IONAL  ACADEMY 


A  HISTORY 

OF  THE 

FIRST  HALF-CENTURY 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  ACADEMY 
OF  SCIENCES 

1863-1913 


A  HISTORY 

OF  THE 

FIRST  HALF-CENTURY 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  ACADEMY 
OF  SCIENCES 

1863-1913 


WASHINGTON 

1913 


JSorb  (gftfcttnore  (p«ee 

BALTIMORE,  MD.,  IT.  S.  A. 


COMMITTEE  ON  THE  PREPARATION  OF  THE 
SEMI-CENTENNIAL  VOLUME 


ARNOLD  HAGUE,  CHAIRMAN 

RUSSELL  H.  CHITTENDEN  WILLIAM  TRELEASE 

WILLIAM  T.  COUNCILMAN  CHARLES  D.  WALCOTT 


PREPARED  AND  EDITED  BY 
FREDERICK  W.  TRUE 

Assistant  Secretary,  Smithsonian  Institution 


264133 


PREFACE 

MANY  of  the  members  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  especially  those  elected  in  recent  years,  have 
frequently  expressed  the  wish  to  become  acquainted 
with  its  early  history,  particularly  that  of  the  formative  period  of 
the  organization,  and  also  with  the  work  it  has  done  in  behalf  of 
the  Government.  As  the  information  on  these  subjects  which  can 
be  gathered  from  the  early  publications  of  the  Academy  is  neither 
in  connected  form  nor  very  extensive,  it  was  decided  in  1909  to 
have  prepared  for  publication,  in  connection  with  the  semi-cen- 
tennial celebration  of  the  Academy,  a  volume  containing  as  com- 
plete an  historical  summary  as  could  be  brought  together  in  the 
time  available.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the 
matter,  and  in  the  summer  of  1910  the  services  of  Dr.  Frederick 
W.  True  were  secured  as  editor. 

Besides  consulting  the  early  records  of  the  Academy,  it  was 
necessary  to  seek  information  from  outside  sources.  The  work  of 
preparing  this  history,  which  has  been  arduous,  is  highly  appreci- 
ated by  the  members  of  the  committee  in  charge,  who  have 
realized  the  varied  and  baffling  nature  of  the  undertaking  and 
desire  to  express  their  approval  of  its  accomplishment.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  information  assembled  in  this  volume  will  afford 
a  good  insight  into  the  nature  of  the  activities  of  the  Academy. 
The  bibliographical  references  which  it  contains  will  enable 
those  who  desire  more  detailed  knowledge  to  find  it  in  the  original 
documents. 

As  the  Academy  has  established  a  series  of  publications  known 
as  the  Biographical  Memoirs,  containing  records  of  the  lives  and 
works  of  its  members,  it  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  attempt 
the  preparation  of  new  biographical  sketches,  but  the  volume  con- 
tains brief  notices  of  the  lives  of  the  incorporators,  or  original 


viii  PREFACE 

members,  drawn  chiefly  from  those  included  in  the  series  men- 
tioned. 

It  was  hoped  that  a  list  of  the  scientific  communications  pre- 
sented to  the  Academy  during  the  half  century,  some  two  thou- 
sand in  number,  with  references  to  the  places  of  publications, 
might  be  added  to  the  volume,  but  it  was  found  impossible  in 
the  time  available  to  compile  the  necessary  data.  The  comple- 
tion of  this  undertaking  is  therefore  necessarily  deferred  until  a 
later  date. 

ARNOLD  HAGUE, 

Chairman  of  Committee. 

JANUARY  10,  1913. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS xi 


CHAPTER  I 


ERRATUM 

Page 86,  after  "Report  on  the  Awarding  of  the  Henry  Draper  Medal  to 
George  Ellery  Hale  "  insert 

"  The  Henry  Draper  Gold  Medal,  awarded  to  W.  W.  Campbell,  of  Lick 
Observatory,  Mount  Hamilton,  California,  during  the  meeting  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  held  in  Washington,  April  16-18,  1906." 


ERRATUM 

Page  341  under  "  Deceased  Members",  after  Brown-Sequard  insert  BRUSH, 
GEORGE  JARVIS,  elected  1868,  died  February  6,  1912. 


IX 


viii  PREFACE 

members,  drawn  chiefly  from  those  included  in  the  series  men- 
tioned. 

It  was  hoped  that  a  list  of  the  scientific  communications  pre- 
sented to  the  Academy  during  the  half  century,  some  two  thou- 
sand in  number,  with  references  to  the  places  of  publications, 
might  be  added  to  the  volume,  but  it  was  found  impossible  in 
the  time  available  to  compile  the  necessary  data.  The  comple- 
tion of  this  undertaking  is  therefore  necessarily  deferred  until  a 
later  date. 

ARNOLD  HAOTTF.. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  .  xi 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY i 

CHAPTER  II 
THE  ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY 25 

CHAPTER  III 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  OF  THE  INCORPORATORS 103 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  ACADEMY  AS  THE  SCIENTIFIC  ADVISER  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT.  .  .  201 


APPENDICES 

I.  LIST  OF  OFFICERS 335 

II.  LIST  OF  MEMBERS  AND  FOREIGN  ASSOCIATES 337 

III.  LIST  OF  MEDALISTS 346 

IV.  LIST  OF  REPORTS  OF  COMMITTEES  APPOINTED  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 348 

V.  ACT  OF  INCORPORATION,  CONSTITUTION,  AMENDMENTS  AND  RULES 351 

VI.  TEXT  OF  BEQUESTS  AND  TRUSTS 361 

VII.  LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS 374 

VIII.  LIST  OF  MEETINGS 385 


IX 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

HENRY  WILSON,   Senator  from  Massachusetts,   and   afterwards,  Vice-President  of  the 

United  States,  who  introduced  the  bill  incorporating  the  Academy 16 

PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

ALEXANDER  DALLAS  BACHE   (1863-1867) 32 

JOSEPH   HENRY    (1868-1878) 48 

WILLIAM  BARTON  ROGERS    (1879-1882) 80 

OTHNIEL  CHARLES  MARSH   (1883-1895) 208 

WOLCOTT   GIBBS    (1895-1900) 224 

ALEXANDER   AGASSIZ    (1901-1907) 240 

IRA    REMSEN    (1907-1913) 256 


HENRY  DRAPER  MEDAL 272 

LAWRENCE  SMITH  MEDAL 288 

WATSON   MEDAL    302 

DIPLOMA  OF  THE  ACADEMY , 320 


HISTORY  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ACADEMY 
OF  SCIENCES 

1863-1913 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY 

THE  National  Academy  of  Sciences  owes  its  origin  as 
an  organization,  in  an  indirect  manner,  to  the  need 
of  the  Government  for  technical  scientific  advice  in  con- 
nection with  the  conduct  of  the  Civil  War.  In  February,  1863, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Gideon  Welles,  appointed  a  "  Per- 
manent Commission,"  consisting  of  Joseph  Henry,  Secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Coast  Survey,  and  Charles  H.  Davis,  Chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Navigation,  Navy  Department,  to  report  on  various 
"  matters  of  science  and  art,"  but  chiefly  of  a  practical  import  and 
relating  to  the  physical  sciences.  These  experts  considered 
numerous  subjects,  and  gave  their  opinion  regarding  them. 

The  letter  of  appointment,  which  is  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  Navy  Department,  is  as  follows: 

"  NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 

"  February  n,  1863. 

"  SIR:  The  Department  proposes  to  organize  upon  the  following  programme 
a  permanent  commission  to  which  all  subjects  of  a  scientific  character  on  which 
the  Government  may  require  information  may  be  referred. 

"  Propositions  relative  to  a  permanent  scientific  commission : 

"  1st.  There  shall  be  constituted  a  permanent  commission  consisting  of,  for  the 
present,  Commodore  Davis,  Professor  Henry,  and  Professor  Bache,  to  which  shall 
be  referred  questions  of  science  and  art  upon  which  the  Department  may  require 
information. 

"  2d.  This  commission  shall  have  authority  to  call  in  associates  to  aid  in  their 
investigations  and  inquiries. 

"  3d.  The  members  and  associates  of  the  Commission  shall  receive  no  compen- 
sation for  their  services. 

"  You  are  directed  to  act  as  a  member  of  the  Commission  in  conjunction  with 
Professor  Henry  and  Professor  Bache. 


2  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  Such  matters  as  are  presented  to  the  Department  will  be  referred  to  you  for 
examination  and  report  by  the  Commission. 

"  I  am  respectfully,  etc., 

"  GIDEON  WELLES, 

"  Sec'y  of  Navy. 
"  COMMODORE  CHARLES  H.  DAVIS, 

"  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Navigation." 1 

Captain  C.  H.  Davis,  who  published  a  life  of  his  father,  Rear- 
Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis,  in  1899,  wrote  as  follows  regarding 
the  labors  of  this  Commission : 

"  This  commission  was  no  sinecure,  and  was  constantly  in  session,  for  it  was  at 
this  time  that  mechanical  and  scientific  ingenuity  was  beginning  to  be  felt  in 
application  to  naval  construction  and  equipment,  and  to  this  commission  were 
referred  the  innumerable  plans  and  proposals  for  new  inventions  and  devices  with 
which  the  government  at  Washington  was  flooded.  This  commission  is  inter- 
esting because  it  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences."  2 

From  the  designation  "  Permanent  Commission,"  it  might  nat- 
urally be  inferred  that  this  body  was  preceded  by  an  organiza- 
tion or  board  of  a  temporary  character,  but  such  appears  not  to 
have  been  the  fact.  There  was,  apparently,  but  one  Commission, 
which  owed  its  rather  peculiar  name  to  an  endeavor  on  the  part 
of  Admiral  Davis  to  find  a  designation  corresponding  to  the 
term  "  Select  Commission  "  sometimes  employed  by  the  British 
Government.8 

Admiral  Davis  was  appointed  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Naviga- 
tion in  the  Navy  Department  in  July,  1862,  and  resided  in  Wash- 
ington from  November  of  that  year  until  April,  1865.  During 
that  time,  according  to  Captain  Davis,  "  he  wrote  home  almost 
every  day."  Among  the  published  letters  of  this  period  are  four 
which  throw  a  strong  light  on  the  steps  which  led  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Permanent  Commission  and  the  Academy.  They 

1  Letters  to  Heads  of  Bureaus  (manuscript),  vol.  4,  July  10,  1861,  to  December  17,  1868, 

P-  153- 

2  Davis,   C.  H.     Life  of  Charles  Henry  Davis,  Rear-Admiral,    1807-1877,  by  his  son, 
Captain  Charles  H.  Davis.    New  York,  1899,  p.  286.    Captain  Davis  later  reached  the  rank 
of  Rear-Admiral,  but  to  distinguish  him  from  his  father,  he  is  referred  to  below  as  Captain 
Davis.     See  also  G.  Brown  Goode,  "The  Smithsonian  Institution,  1846-1896,"  p.  152. 

8  See  Admiral  Davis'  letter  of  February  24,   1863,  quoted  on  p.  3. 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  3 

reveal  the  fact  that  the  two  organizations  were  closely  associated 
in  the  minds  of  their  originators,  and  also  that  they  came  into 
existence  almost  at  the  same  time.  It  seems  best,  on  this  account, 
to  consider  them  in  connection  with  each  other  rather  than  to 
attempt  to  trace  the  beginnings  of  each  organization  separately. 
The  four  letters  referred  to,  as  they  appear  in  Captain  Davis' 
book,  are  as  follows : 

"February  2,  1863.  How  much  have  I  told  you,  if  anything,  about  a  Per- 
manent Commission  or  Academy?  Bache,  Henry,  and  myself  are  very  busy  on 
this  topic,  and  have  made  a  move  which  will  no  doubt  result  in  the  Permanent 
Commission.  The  Academy  is  more  doubtful  "  (p.  289). 

"  February  20.  Inclosed  is  a  copy  of  the  order  creating  the  Permanent  Com- 
mission. But  the  Academy  is  to  be  introduced  into  Congress  by  Mr.  Wilson 
[Senator  from  Massachusetts].  The  whole  plan  of  it  was  arranged  last  night 
between  Mr.  Wilson,  Agassiz,  Bache  and  Ben  [Professor  Peirce].  It  was  my 
plan  amplified  and  improved  "  (p.  289). 

"  February  24.  I  told  you  a  word  about  the  Academy  in  one  of  my  notes,  but 
only  a  word,  being  in  a  hurry.  The  appointment  of  a  Permanent  Commission  was 
suggested  to  me  by  one  of  my  letters,  which  quoted  a  passage  from  the  British  War 
Office  which  spoke  of  a  Select  Commission;  and  when  I  mentioned  it  to  Bache  and 
Henry  they  acquiesced,  and  the  latter  presented  the  plan  to  the  department. 
You  saw,  by  the  copy  of  the  Secretary's  letter  to  me,  that  our  plan  was  accepted 
without  any  change  whatever.  We  had  hardly  got  through  this  thing  before  the 
idea  flashed  upon  my  mind  that  the  whole  plan,  so  long  entertained,  of  the 
Academy  could  be  successfully  carried  out  if  an  act  of  incorporation  were  boldly 
asked  for  in  the  name  of  some  of  the  leading  men  of  science  from  different  parts  of 
the  country.  This  I  submitted  to  Bache  and  Henry  with  details,  but  the  view  was 
not  immediately  adopted.  The  next  step  was  Agassiz  coming  to  Washington  as 
one  of  the  regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Then  followed  a  visit  to 
Agassiz  by  Senator  Wilson,  who  had  nominated  him  to  the  regency.  At  this 
meeting,  which  took  place  at  Bache's,  Ben,  Bache,  and  Dr.  Gould  were  present; 
and  it  was  there  that  the  mode  of  proceeding  was  devised.  Mr.  Wilson  intro- 
duced the  bill  last  Saturday  "  .  .  .  .  (p.  289). 

"  February  27 I  am  looking  for  Agassiz  to  come  here  and  be  intro- 
duced to  Admiral  Foote,  and  then  to  go  with  me  to  the  Capitol  to  see  Mr.  Grimes 
about  the  Academy  bill.  I  go  to  the  President's  once  more,  and  I  hope  for  the 
last  time,  this  morning. 

"  The  dinner  at  Bache's  was  particularly  pleasant,  even  for  the  chief's  enter- 
tainments, which  never  fail  to  be  agreeable.  Judge  Loring,  Mr.  Hosford,  and 
Mr.  Hilgard  were  there  .  ..."  (p.  291). 


4  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  March  7 If  the  plan  we  first  pitched  upon  had  been  followed,  that 

of  creating  the  Academy  with  a  dozen  or  twenty  members,  and  allowing  them  to 
organize  and  fill  up  the  whole  number  by  usual  system  of  ballot,  then  the  odium 

of  exclusion  would  have  been  divided  and  distributed You  will  perceive 

at  once  that,  on  the  plan  I  proposed,  not  only  would  the  odium  (if  any)  of 
exclusion  be  numerously  shared,  but  a  wider  and  broader  opinion  and  control 
would  have  been  brought  to  bear  on  selection,  which  would  then  have  become 
election.  And  this  was  due  to  the  interests  of  the  government  and  to  the  claims 
of  men  of  science  "  (p.  292). 

In  these  letters  the  chronological  order  of  the  events  narrated 
is  largely  inverted,  and,  on  the  first  perusal  of  them,  the  actual 
sequence  is  not  readily  comprehended.  They  inform  us  that 
Admiral  Davis,  having  come  to  Washington  in  November,  1862, 
heard  and  participated  in  various  discussions  among  his  scientific 
associates  of  the  need  of  a  national  scientific  organization.  Hav- 
ing served  as  a  member  of  various  advisory  boards,  the  idea 
occurred  to  him  not  long  before  February  2,  1863,  that  the 
organization  might  take  the  form  of  a  Permanent  Commission. 
He  at  once  broached  the  subject  to  Bache  and  Henry  who  agreed 
that  the  plan  was  meritorious,  while  at  the  same  time  clinging 
to  the  idea  of  founding  an  academy.  Henry  was  so  favorably 
impressed  with  the  commission  plan  that  he  immediately  pre- 
sented it  to  the  Navy  Department.  This  plan  received  the 
prompt  attention  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  who  issued  an 
order  on  February  n,  creating  the  Permanent  Commission. 

While  awaiting  the  result  of  the  Navy  Department's  con- 
sideration of  the  plan  to  establish  a  scientific  commission,  the 
idea  occurred  to  Admiral  Davis  that  an  academy  might  be 
organized  by  the  simple  process  of  asking  Congress  for  its  incor- 
poration "  in  the  name  of  some  of  the  leading  men  of  science 
from  different  parts  of  the  country."  This  idea  was  also  pre- 
sented to  Bache  and  Henry,  who,  however,  were  not  immediately 
convinced  of  its  merits.  About  this  time  Louis  Agassiz,  having 
been  nominated  by  Senator  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts, 
a  regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  came  to  Washington 
and  met  him  on  February  19,  at  the  house  of  Professor  Bache, 
where  were  also  assembled  Professor  Peirce,  Dr.  B.  A.  Gould 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  5 

and  we  may  presume,  Admiral  Davis.  The  plan  of  incorporat- 
ing an  academy  was  discussed,  and  it  was  decided  that  Senator 
Wilson  should  introduce  a  bill  of  incorporation,  which  he  did  on 
Saturday,  February  21.  Admiral  Davis  asserts  that  the  plan  of 
action  adopted  on  this  occasion  was  his  own,  "  amplified  and 
improved." 

While  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  state- 
ments regarding  the  organization  of  the  Academy  contained  in 
these  letters,  which  were  written  while  the  events  were  taking 
place,  it  is  interesting  to  find  that  many  of  them  are  corroborated 
by  other  documents. 

That  Louis  Agassiz  was  nominated  by  Senator  Wilson  as  a 
regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  the  time  mentioned  by 
Davis  is  verified  by  the  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  37th 
Congress  contained  in  the  Congressional  Globe.  From  this 
journal  we  learn  that  his  name  was  proposed  in  the  Senate  by 
Senator  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  on  February  6,  1863,  and  that 
the  joint  resolution  providing  for  his  appointment  (Senate  no. 
126)  was  passed  on  that  date;  that  this  resolution  passed  the 
House  on  February  19,  1863  ;  and  that  it  was  signed  by  President 
Lincoln  on  February  21.* 

The  date  of  the  introduction  by  Senator  Wilson  of  the  bill 
incorporating  the  Academy  is  also  found  to  be  correctly  given  in 
Davis'  letter.  The  Globe  contains  the  following  regarding  it: 

IN  THE  SENATE. 

Friday,  February  20,  1863.  —  "  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  gave  notice  of 
his  intention  to  ask  leave  to  introduce  a  bill  to  incorporate  a  national  academy  of 
sciences."  5 

Saturday,  February  21,  1863.  —  "  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  in  pursuance 
of  previous  notice,  asked  and  obtained  leave  to  introduce  a  bill  (S.  No.  555)  to 
incorporate  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  ;  which  was  read  twice  by  its  title, 
and  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table,  and  be  printed."  e 

The  bill  was  passed  by  the  Senate  on  March  3,  1863,  without 
discussion.7 


4  Congressional  Globe,  tfth  Congress,  30!  Session,  pp.  762,  1121,  1181. 

5  Loc.  cit.,  p.  1131. 

8  Loc.  cit.,  p.  1155. 

T  Loc.  cit.,  pp.  1500,  1501.    There  was  no  report  on  this  bill. 


6  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

IN  THE  HOUSE. 

March  3,  1863. — "  Mr.  Thomas,  of  Massachusetts.  I  ask  the  unanimous 
consent  of  the  House  for  leave  to  take  up  Senate  bill  No.  555,  to  incorporate  a 
National  Academy  of  Science. 

"  There  was  no  objection,  and  the  bill  was  taken  up,  read  three  times,  and 
passed. 

"  Mr.  Thomas,  of  Massachusetts,  moved  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which  the 
bill  was  passed ;  and  also  moved  that  the  motion  to  reconsider  be  laid  on  the  table. 

"  The  latter  motion  was  agreed  to."  8 

The  bill,  having  been  passed  by  both  Houses,  was  signed  by 
the  President  on  the  same  day,  Tuesday,  March  3,  1863. 

Upon  examining  the  list  of  names  of  persons  at  the  meeting 
held  at  the  house  of  Professor  Bache  on  February  19,  to  arrange 
the  plan  of  incorporation,  it  will  be  noted  that  Joseph  Henry  is 
not  mentioned.  One  might  suppose  that  his  name  was  acciden- 
tally omitted  by  Admiral  Davis,  but  from  remarks  made  later  by 
Henry  it  appears  certain  that  he  did  not  attend  the  meeting.  In 
his  report  as  President  of  the  Academy,  for  the  year  1867,  he 
speaks  as  follows: 

"  I  feel  myself  more  at  liberty  to  urge  the  claims  of  the  Academy,  inasmuch  as 
its  members  generally,  including  myself,  took  no  step  toward  its  establishment. 
Indeed,  I  must  confess  that  I  had  no  idea  that  the  national  legislature,  amid 
the  absorbing  and  responsible  duties  connected  with  an  intestine  war,  which 
threatened  the  very  existence  of  the  Union,  would  pause  in  its  deliberations  to 
consider  such  a  proposition."  9 

Whether  other  motives  than  the  mere  doubt  of  the  feasibility 
of  the  plan  for  incorporating  the  Academy  influenced  Henry  in 
refraining  from  attending  the  meeting  of  February  19,  can, 
perhaps,  not  be  discovered  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years.  As 
soon  as  the  Academy  had  been  established,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  its  proceedings,  becoming  chairman  of  the  first  com- 
mittee appointed  in  1863,  and  a  member  of  two  others  appointed 
in  1863  and  1864.  He  also  read  a  paper  at  the  first  scientific 
session  of  the  Academy,  in  January,  1864,  "  On  Materials  of 
Combustion  for  Lamps  in  Light-houses."  His  name  does  not, 

8  Loc.  «/.,  p.  1540. 

9  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1867.    Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  106,  4oth  Congress,  2d  Session,  1868. 
p.  5. 


however,  appear  in  the  first  list  of  officers  of  the  Academy,  nor 
of  the  members  of  the  Council. 

While,  as  has  been  seen,  many  of  the  statements  in  Admiral 
Davis'  letters  regarding  the  initial  steps  in  the  formation  of  the 
Academy  are  substantiated  by  other  records,  the  most  important 
one  has  yet  to  be  considered.  This  is  his  claim  that  the  practical 
plan  for  bringing  the  organization  into  existence  was  his  own, 
though  "  amplified  and  improved,"  as  he  remarks,  by  the  sug- 
gestions of  others. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Davis  intended  to  claim  having 
originated  the  idea  of  a  national  scientific  association  or  academy. 
This  thought,  as  Goode  has  shown,10  was  in  the  minds  of  Wash- 
ington, Jefferson,  Barlow,  and  other  early  American  statesmen 
and  publicists,  and  led  to  practical  results  of  large  importance 
through  the  activities  of  Franklin,  John  Adams  and  Poinsett. 

Bache  dwelt  on  the  need  of  a  national  scientific  organization 
in  his  address  as  retiring  President  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  at  Albany,  in  1851,  on  which 
occasion  he  said: 

"  But  first  a  few  observations  on  the  ordinary  modes  of  promoting  science ;  in 
connexion  with  which,  I  would  throw  out  for  your  consideration  some  reasons 
which  induce  me  to  believe  that  an  institution  of  science,  supplementary  to 
existing  ones,  is  much  needed  in  our  country,  to  guide  public  action  in  reference 
to  scientific  matters 

"  It  is,  I  believe,  a  common  mistake  to  associate  the  idea  of  academical  insti- 
tutions with  monarchial  institutions.  We  show  in  this,  as  in  many  other  things, 
the  prejudice  of  our  descent.  We  have  among  us  the  two  extremes  of  exaggerated 
nationality  and  of  excessive  imitation;  let  us  modify  each  by  the  other,  and  be 
wise.  A  national  institute  is  not  necessary  to  Great  Britain,  with  her  rich  and 
powerful  universities.  Republican  France  has  cherished  her  Institute,  seeking 

rather  to  extend  than  to  curtail  its  proportions Nor  does  the  idea  of  a 

necessary  connexion  between  centralization  and  an  institution  strike  me  as  a  valid 
one.  Suppose  an  institute  of  which  the  members  belong  in  turn  to  each  of  our 
widely  scattered  states,  working  at  their  places  of  residence  and  reporting  their 
results;  meeting  only  at  particular  times,  and  for  special  purposes;  engaged  in 
researches  self-directed,  or  desired  by  the  body,  called  for  by  Congress  or  by  the 

10  Goode,  G.  Brown,  The  Origin  of  the  National  Scientific  and  Educational  Institutions  of 
the  United  States.  Ann.  Rep.  Amer.  Hist.  Assoc.  for  1889,  pp.  53-161.  1890. 


8  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Executive,  who  furnish  the  means  for  the  inquiries.  The  detail  of  such  an 
organization  could  be  marked  out  so  as  to  secure  efficiency  without  centralization, 
and  constant  labor  with  its  appropriate  results.  The  public  treasury  would  be 
saved  many  times  the  support  of  such  a  council,  by  the  sound  advice  which  it 
would  give  in  regard  to  the  various  projects  which  are  constantly  forced  upon 
their  notice,  and  in  regard  to  which  they  are  now  compelled  to  decide  without 
the  knowledge  which  alone  can  ensure  a  wise  conclusion.  The  men  of  science  who 
are  at  the  seat  of  government  either  constantly  or  temporarily,  are  too  much 
occupied  in  the  special  work  which  belongs  to  their  official  occupations  to  answer 
such  a  purpose;  besides,  the  additional  responsibility  which,  if  they  were  called 
together,  they  must  necessarily  bear,  would  prove  too  great  a  burthen,  considering 
the  fervid  zeal,  and  I  might  almost  say  fierceness,  with  which  questions  of  interest 
are  pursued  and  the  very  extraordinary  means  resorted  to  to  bring  about  a 
successful  conclusion 

"  Our  country  is  making  such  rapid  progress  in  material  improvements,  that  it 
is  impossible  for  either  the  legislative  or  executive  departments  of  our  Government 
to  avoid  incidentally,  if  not  directly,  being  involved  in  the  decision  of  such 
questions.  Without  specification,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  there  are  few  applications 
of  science  which  do  not  bear  on  the  interests  of  commerce  and  navigation,  naval 
or  military  concerns,  the  customs,  the  light-houses,  the  public  lands,  post-offices 
and  post-roads,  either  directly  or  remotely.  If  all  examination  is  refused,  the 
good  is  confounded  with  the  bad,  and  the  Government  may  lose  a  most  important 
advantage.  If  a  decision  is  left  to  influence,  or  to  imperfect  knowledge,  the  worst 
consequences  follow. 

"  Such  a  body  would  supply  a  place  not  occupied  by  existing  institutions,  and 
which  our  own  is,  from  its  temporary  and  voluntary  character,  not  able  to 
supply."  " 

This  declaration,  which  foreshadows  so  much  of  the  program 
of  the  National  Academy  organized  twelve  years  later,  must 
have  been  well  known  to  Admiral  (then  Lieutenant)  Davis. 
Indeed,  it  is  probable  that  he  listened  to  Professor  Bache's  ad- 
dress when  delivered  in  Albany,  as  he  was  present  at  the  meeting 
and  read  a  paper  himself  on  the  solar  eclipse  of  July  28,  1851. 
The  claim  of  Davis,  therefore,  was  not  that  he  was  the  first  to 
detect  the  need  of  a  national  academy  of  science,  or  to  outline  its 
proper  character  and  scope,  but  that  he  first  hit  on  a  practical 
plan  for  bringing  it  into  existence  and  for  securing  the  initial 
membership. 

uProc.  Amer.  Assoc.  Advanc.  Sci.,  6th  Meeting,  1851  (1852),  pp.  xlvii-Ii. 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  9 

The  more  interesting  question  as  to  what  scientific  men  were 
the  chief  promoters  of  the  Academy  movement  is  not  easy  of 
solution.  Not  only  has  the  little  coterie  which  is  mentioned  by 
Davis  as  having  arranged  the  plan  of  incorporation  passed  away, 
but  all  the  group  of  fifty  incorporators.  Of  some  of  these  men 
no  published  biographies  exist,  and  for  others  we  have  only  brief 
sketches  and  fragments  of  correspondence.  Piecing  together  the 
scraps  and  shreds  of  information  scattered  through  many  volumes 
leads  to  no  very  satisfactory  result.  We  may  confidently  believe 
that,  as  Davis  informs  us,  Bache,  Peirce,  Henry,  Davis  and  B.  A. 
Gould  were  strongly  imbued  with  the  idea  that  some  form  of 
national  scientific  organization,  created  by  and  bearing  at  least 
a  quasi-official  relation  to  the  Federal  Government  would  be  of 
importance  both  to  American  science  and  to  the  Government. 
It  is  more  difficult  to  be  assured  as  to  others.  The  name  of 
Louis  Agassiz  should  probably  be  added  to  the  list,  although  the 
idea  seems  tenable  that  his  activities  in  behalf  of  the  Academy 
were  prompted  chiefly  by  a  desire  to  aid  his  scientific  associates 
and  friends.  Marcou  states  that  Agassiz  "  may  be  called  one  of 
the  founders,  but  not  the  '  prime  mover '  "  and  intimates  that  he 
took  part  in  the  plans  for  incorporation  mainly  to  satisfy  Bache.12 

However  this  may  be,  he  was  sufficiently  interested  in  the 
Academy  to  accept  the  position  of  foreign  secretary,  to  which 
he  was  elected  at  the  first  meeting  in  1863,  and  also  to  take  an 
active  part  in  shaping  the  constitution  and  by-laws.13 

Among  those  who  have  been  mentioned  as  early  promoters 
of  the  Academy  is  J.  Peter  Lesley.  In  a  biographical  sketch  of 
his  life  read  before  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers 
in  1903,  Benjamin  S.  Lyman  remarks: 

"About  1862  he  [Lesley]  and  several  of  his  scientific  friends  earnestly  dis- 
cussed the  desirableness  of  forming  a  National  Academy  of  Science,  that  should 

^Marcou,  Jules.  Life,  letters  and  works  of  Louis  Agassiz,  vol.  2,  1895,  p.  157.  Many 
of  Marcou's  statements  are  erroneous,  as,  for  example,  that  Henry  Wilson  was  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  incorporation  of  the  Academy.  They 
can  hardly  be  accepted  unless  corroborated  by  other  testimony. 

13  See  Ames,  Mary  Lesley,  Life  and  letters  of  Peter  and  Susan  Lesley,  vol.  i,  1909,  p. 
419,  where  there  is  an  amusing  account  of  the  meeting  for  organization. 


10  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

be  limited  in  number  and  more  select  than  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  and  should  have  its  meetings  less  encumbered  with 
unsatisfactory  communications.  He  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  enterprise, 
thinking  that  the  exclusive  character,  and  what  might  possibly  be  considered  the 
aristocratic  appearance  or  desires  of  such  an  organization,  would  not  be  distasteful 
to  Americans,  nor  really  inconsistent  with  their  democratic  principles.  The 
Academy  was  incorporated  by  the  United  States  Congress  in  1863,  and  he  was 
one  of  the  original  members,  and  continued  to  be  a  member  throughout  his  life."  " 

The  foregoing  assertion  of  Lesley's  early  interest  in  the  forma- 
tion of  an  academy  bears  the  impress  of  accuracy,  but  is  some- 
what at  variance  with  a  published  letter  of  Mrs.  Lesley,  dated 
March  8,  1863,  as  follows: 

"  Yesterday  came  an  official  letter  from  the  Honorable  Henry  Wilson,  naming 
him  [Lesley]  as  one  of  the  corporators  of  the  new  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  and  asking  his  attendance  at  the  first  meeting  in  New  York.  This  was 
a  very  great  surprise  to  Peter  [Lesley],  a  thing  entirely  unsought  and  unsolicited, 
and  gives  him  pleasure."  15 

It  is  quite  in  harmony  with  Lesley's  unselfish  and  unassuming 
character  that  his  interest  in  the  Academy  should  be  entirely 
impersonal. 

There  are  some  indications  besides  that  contained  in  Lyman's 
address,  just  quoted,  that  the  question  of  forming  an  academy 
was  more  or  less  widely  discussed  in  1862.  In  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Professor  Benjamin  A.  Gould,  written  by  A.  McF. 
Davis  and  published  in  1897,  the  following  remark  is  made: 

"  In  1862,  he  was  appointed  to  reduce  and  compute  the  astronomical  observa- 
tions made  at  the  Washington  Observatory,  and  he  was  active  both  that  year  and 
the  next  in  promoting  the  establishment  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  of 
which  he  was  an  original  member."  16 

Doctor  George  W.  Hill,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Doctor  Arnold 
Hague,  remarks  of  Admiral  Davis  and  Professor  Peirce : 

"Ames,  Mary  Lesley.  Life  and  letters  of  Peter  and  Susan  Lesley,  vol.  2,  1909,  p.  469. 
(Appendix  D.  Biographical  sketch  of  J.  Peter  Lesley,  by  Benjamin  Smith  Lyman,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.  (New  York  Meeting,  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  October, 
1903.).)  (Published  originally  in  Trans.  Amer.  Inst.  Mining  Engineers.) 

15  Op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  p.  419. 

"Davis,  A.  McF.  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould.  Proc.  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  April,  1897,  p.  7. 
(Also  separate.) 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  II 

"  My  impression  is  that  these  two  men  originated  the  idea  of  having  a  general 
scientific  society  for  the  whole  country  which,  as  far  as  our  democratic  institutions 
would  allow,  in  imitation  of  those  of  Europe,  should  be  under  the  patronage  of 
the  government.  This  idea  was  probably  broached  as  early  as  1862.  Of  course 
two  men  by  themselves  could  not  originate  an  academy  and  soon  others  were 
drawn  into  the  project.  Bache,  Henry,  B.  A.  Gould  and  Agassiz  were  invited 
to  take  part.  It  was  decided  that  50  should  be  the  number  of  the  members  of 
the  new  scientific  body." 

Others  besides  those  already  mentioned  should  be  perhaps 
included  among  the  founders  of  the  Academy,  but  it  is  certain 
that  not  all  who  were  named  as  incorporators  participated  in  the 
movement.  We  know  that  in  several  instances  persons  so  named 
were  unaware  that  they  had  been  designated  until  they  had  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  Senator  Wilson  advising  them  that  they 
were  included  in  the  list.  One  of  the  incorporators  declined 
membership  in  the  Academy.  It  appears  from  the  letters  of 
Davis  that  the  list  was  made  up  at  the  preliminary  meeting  held 
at  the  house  of  Professor  Bache  on  February  19,  1863,  or  soon 
afterwards,  and  caused  some  dissatisfaction  when  published  in 
the  bill  of  incorporation. 

It  is  perhaps  an  unnecessary  task  to  endeavor  to  determine 
who  should  be  considered  the  head  and  front  of  the  Academy 
movement,  but  judging  from  contemporary  evidence,  this  dis- 
tinction probably  belongs  to  Professor  Bache.  Arnold  Guyot 
speaks  of  him  as  "  the  enlightened  and  far-seeing  head  of  the 
Coast  Survey  "  and  "  the  founder  of  this  Academy."  " 

E.  S.  Morse  remarks:  "Agassiz,  Bache  and  Henry  were  the 
leading  spirits  in  originating  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences."  The  address  delivered  by  Professor  Bache  at 
Albany  in  1851,  a  portion  of  which  is  quoted  above  (p.  7),  con- 
tains the  first  definite  plan  for  the  particular  kind  of  academy 
which  was  organized  twelve  years  later.  Doubtless  many  of  its 
features  had  been  suggested  by  Bache's  associates  and  friends, 
and  we  know,  indeed,  that  it  was  a  frequent  subject  of  discussion 
among  the  scientific  men  of  America  for  many  years.  Bache 
himself  remarked  in  1863  that  the  need  of  such  a  body  as  the 

"Biogr.  Mem.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  2,  1886,  p.  70. 
"Pop.  Sci.  Monthly,  vol.  71,  1907,  p.  548. 


12  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

National  Academy  of  Sciences  had  "  long  been  felt  by  the 
patriotic  scientific  men  of  the  United  States."  Yet  it  was  Bache 
who  first  gave  the  project  a  definite  form  and  published  it  to 
the  world.  His  plan  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  copied  from 
those  which  were  formulated  by  Franklin  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, or  by  Barlow,  Adams  or  others  in  the  early  years  of  the 
Republic,  although,  as  a  matter  of  course,  they  have  some  things 
in  common.  The  earlier  projects  related  especially  to  the 
founding  of  a  national  university,  to  initiating  research  in 
branches  of  sciences  which  had  not  been  cultivated  in  America, 
or  to  aiding  the  Government  in  the  exploitation  and  develop- 
ment of  the  national  domain,  and  were  also  concerned  with 
the  study  of  political  science,  morals,  literature  and  art.19  At 

"The  nearest  approach  to  the  Academy  plan  to  be  found  in  connection  with  the  earlier 
organizations  is,  perhaps,  the  proposition  put  forward  by  a  committee  of  the  National 
Institute  for  the  Promotion  of  Science  in  1842.  At  a  meeting  of  the  National  Institute,  held 
on  August  8,  1842,  the  following  report  was  made  by  a  special  committee,  proposing  to 
establish  an  annual  scientific  convention  at  Washington: 

"  They  proposed  that  a  meeting  of  the  learned  men  of  our  country,  distinguished  for  their 
attainments  in  the  different  sciences,  particularly  in  those  termed  physical,  should  be  held 
annually  at  the  seat  of  the  General  Government,  at  some  early  period  of  the  session  of 
Congress,  under  the  auspices  of  the  [National]  Institute,  to  communicate  the  results  of 
their  inquiries,  to  compare  their  observations,  and  to  promote  the  general  interests  of 
science.  It  has  seemed  to  the  committee  that  this  Institute  affords  an  opportunity,  which 
ought  not  to  be  neglected,  of  concentrating  the  genius  and  learning  of  our  country  at  a 
common  center,  from  which  the  beams  of  intelligence  will  radiate  to  gladden  and  bless  the 
land."  (Proc.  Nat.  Institute,  sd  Bull.,  j).  335.) 

"At  the  meeting  of  September  12,  1842,  Mr.  Poinsett,  the  president,  proposed  a  series  of 
resolutions  intended  to  put  the  recommendation  of  the  report  into  effect.  All  of  these 
resolutions  and  reports  ....  were  without  avail."  (Goode  G.  B.  The  Genesis  of  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  in  Rep.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.  for  1891,  p.  294.  1893.  See  also  Proc. 
Nat.  Institute,  3d  Bull.,  p.  336.) 

The  purposes  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  are  set  forth  in  its 
charter,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract: 

"That  the  end  and  design  of  the  institution  of  the  said  Academy  is,  to  promote  and 
encourage  the  knowledge  of  the  antiquities  of  America,  and  of  the  national  history  of  the 
country,  and  to  determine  the  uses  to  which  the  various  national  productions  of  the 
country  may  be  applied  to  promote  and  encourage  medical  discoveries,  mathematical  dis- 
quisitions, philosophical  enquiries  and  experiments;  astronomical,  meteorological  and  geo- 
graphical observations;  and  improvements  in  agriculture,  arts,  manufactures  and  commerce; 
and,  in  fine,  to  cultivate  every  art  and  science,  which  may  tend  to  advance  the  interest, 
honor,  dignity  and  happiness  of  a  free,  independent  and  victorious  people."  Charter 
granted  May  4,  1780.  (Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  vol.  i, 
1785,  p.  vii.) 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  13 

the  time  when  the  idea  of  a  national  academy  first  began  to 
take  root,  these  needs  had  been  more  or  less  adequately  met. 
Colleges  had  been  established  in  most  of  the  States  of  the  Union 
and  were  in  a  prosperous  condition,  research  had  been  prose- 
cuted in  nearly  every  branch  of  science,  and  commerce  and 
the  development  of  the  country  had  been  encouraged  by  exten- 
sive surveys  and  other  activities  of  the  Government.  The  objects 
which  the  founders  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  had 
in  view  were  of  a  somewhat  different  character.  What  they 
were  can  best  be  learned  from  those  who  were  leaders  in  the 
movement.  In  the  third  section  of  the  act  of  incorporation  it  is 
provided,  that  "  The  Academy  shall,  whenever  called  upon  by 
any  department  of  the  Government,  investigate,  examine,  ex- 
periment, and  report  upon  any  subject  of  science  or  art."  In 
the  first  report  of  the  Academy  to  Congress,  dated  March  28, 
1864,  Professor  Bache,  the  first  President,  remarked: 

"  The  want  of  an  institution  by  which  the  scientific  strength  of  the  country  may 
be  brought,  from  time  to  time,  to  the  aid  of  the  government  in  guiding  action 
by  the  knowledge  of  scientific  principles  and  experiments,  has  long  been  felt  by  the 
patriotic  scientific  men  of  the  United  States.  No  government  of  Europe  has  been 
willing  to  dispense  with  a  body,  under  some  name,  capable  of  rendering  such  aid 
to  the  government,  and  in  turn  of  illustrating  the  country  by  scientific  discovery 
and  by  literary  culture."  20 

In  the  report  for  1867,  Joseph  Henry,  then  President  of  the 
Academy,  refers  to  the  objects  of  the  Academy  in  the  following 
terms: 

"  The  objects  of  this  association  are  principally  to  advance  abstract  science,  and        ^ 
to  examine,  investigate,  and  experiment  upon  subjects  on  which  information  is 
desired  by  the  government. 

"  It  was  implied  in  the  organization  of  such  a  body  that  it  should  be  exclusively 
composed  of  men  distinguished  for  original  research,  and  that  to  be  chosen  one  of 
its  members  would  be  considered  a  high  honor,  and  consequently  a  stimulus  to 
scientific  labor,  and  that  no  one  would  be  elected  into  it  who  had  not  earned  the 
distinction  by  actual  discoveries  enlarging  the  field  of  human  knowledge. 

"  The  names  of  the  fifty  original  members  were  included  in  the  act  of  organi- 
zation and  were  chosen  from  among  those  of  the  principal  cultivators  of  science 
in  this  country.  For  the  appointment  of  these  members  the  academy  itself  is  not 

20 Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863   (1864),  p.  i. 
3 


14  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

responsible.  It  is,  however,  responsible  for  those  who  have  since  been  and  are  still 
to  be  elected ;  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  in  filling  the  large  number  of  vacancies 
which  have  been  occasioned  by  death  and  resignation  since  the  original  organi- 
zation, the  principle  before  mentioned  has  been  strictly  observed,  and  no  one  has 
been  admitted  except  after  a  full  discussion  of  his  claims  and  a  satisfactory 
answer  to  the  question,  '  What  has  he  done  to  advance  science  in  the  line  of 
research  which  he  has  especially  prosecuted  ?  ' 

"  The  organization  of  this  academy  may  be  hailed  as  marking  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  philosophical  opinions  in  our  country.  It  is  the  first  recognition  by  our 
government  of  the  importance  of  abstract  science  as  an  essential  element  of  mental 
and  material  progress."  21 

It  is  obvious  from  the  foregoing  statements  of  Bache  and 
Henry,  that  two  principal  objects  were  uppermost  in  the  minds 
of  the  founders — to  afford  recognition  to  those  men  of  science 
who  had  done  original  work  of  real  importance  and  thereby  to 
stimulate  them  and  others  to  further  endeavors;  and  to  aid 
the  Government  in  the  solution  of  technical  scientific  problems 
having  a  practical  bearing  on  the  conduct  of  public  business. 

The  idea  that  election  to  membership  in  a  scientific  associa- 
tion incorporated  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  might  be 
regarded  as  a  badge  of  distinction  conferred  by  our  Government, 
similar  to  the  honors  bestowed  by  the  monarchical  govern- 
ments of  Europe,  seems  to  have  provoked  more  or  less  discus- 
sion. By  some,  the  bestowal  of  any  such  recognition  was  thought 
to  be  inconsistent  with  democratic  principles.  Professor  Henry, 
however,  was  of  the  contrary  opinion.  In  his  report  for  1867, 
already  quoted,  he  remarks: 

"  It  is  not  enough  for  our  government  to  offer  encouragement  to  the  direct 
promotion  of  the  useful  arts  through  the  more  or  less  fortunate  efforts  of 
inventors;  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  if  we  would  advance  or  even  preserve  our 
reputation  for  true  intelligence,  that  encouragement  and  facilities  should  be 
afforded  for  devotion  to  original  research  in  the  various  branches  of  human  knowl- 
edge. In  the  other  countries  scientific  discovery  is  stimulated  by  pensions,  by 
titles  of  honor,  and  by  various  social  and  official  distinctions.  The  French 
academicians  receive  an  annual  salary  and  are  decorated  with  the  insignia  of  the 
legion  of  honor.  Similar  marks  of  distinction  are  conferred  on  the  members  of  the 

21  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1867  (1868),  pp.  i,  2.  Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  106,  4oth  Congress, 
ad  Session. 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  15 

academy  of  Berlin  and  that  of  St.  Petersburg.  These  modes  of  stimulation  or 
encouragement  may  be  considered  inconsistent  with  our  social  ideas  and  perhaps 
with  our  forms  of  government.  There  are  honors,  nevertheless,  which  in  an 
intelligent  democracy  have  been  and  may  be  justly  awarded  to  those  who  enlarge 
the  field  of  human  thought  and  human  power.  Heretofore,  but  two  principal 
means  of  distinction  have  been  recognized  in  this  country,  viz:  the  acquisition 
of  wealth  and  the  possession  of  political  power.  The  war  seems  to  have  offered  a 
third,  in  bestowing  position  and  renown  for  successful  military  achievement.  The 
establishment  of  this  Academy  may  be  perhaps  regarded  as  having  opened  a  fourth 
avenue  for  the  aspirations  of  a  laudable  ambition,  which  interferes  neither  with 
our  national  prejudices  nor  our  political  principles,  and  which  only  requires  the 
fostering  care  of  government  to  become  of  essential  benefit  and  importance 
not  only  to  this,  but  all  the  civilized  countries  of  the  world."  22 

Whatever  the  merit  of  the  views  enunciated  by  Professor 
Henry,  no  tangible  evidence  of  distinction  has  been  attached 
to  membership  in  the  Academy,  such  as  is  connected  with 
high  military,  political  or  judicial  station.  The  members  of 
the  early  American  Geological  Society  were  accustomed  to 
append  the  letters  "  M.  A.  G.  S."  to  their  names,  corresponding 
to  the  familiar  "  F.  R.  S."  "  F.  L.  S.,"  etc.,  of  the  Royal 
Society  and  the  Linnean  Society  of  London,  and  other  English 
associations,  but  the  practice  has  not  obtained  in  connection  with 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.23 

To  be  the  scientific  adviser  of  the  Government  was  second 
among  the  principal  objects  of  the  Academy,  as  laid  down  in 
the  act  of  incorporation  in  1863.  The  country  was  then  in  the 
throes  of  the  Civil  War,  and  the  Government  needed,  as  never 
before,  sound  advice  on  technical  scientific  subjects,  especially 
such  as  had  a  bearing  on  naval  and  military  affairs.  Numerous 
commissions  were  appointed,  including  the  Permanent  Com- 
mission, already  mentioned,  and  it  was  quite  in  harmony  with 
the  purpose  of  these  organizations  that  one  of  the  chief  duties 
of  the  new  academy  should  be  to  aid  the  Government  wherever 
scientific  truths  could  be  serviceable.  It  has  been  intimated 

22 Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1867  (1868),  pp.  3,  4.  Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  106,  4oth  Congress, 
2d  Session. 

23  Goode,  G.  B.  The  origin  of  the  National  Scientific  and  Educational  Institutions  of  the 
United  States.  Ann.  Rep.  Amer.  Hist.  Assoc.  for  1889  (1890),  p.  68. 


1 6  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

by  one  writer  that  this  provision  was  included  in  the  bill  of 
incorporation  mainly  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  bill,  by  convinc- 
ing Congress  of  the  practical  utility  of  the  Academy.  This  may 
be  in  part  true,  but  it  does  not  explain  the  fact  that  the  executive 
branch  of  the  Government  immediately  took  counsel  of  the 
Academy  on  a  variety  of  subjects  and  has  continued  to  do  so 
up  to  the  present  time. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  attitude  of 
President  Lincoln  and  his  Secretary  of  State,  Seward,  toward 
the  Academy,  as  shown  by  the  following  letter  which  was  ad- 
dressed to  Professor  Bache  a  few  months  after  its  organization : 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

"WASHINGTON,  January  8,  1864. 

"  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  note  of  the 
7th  instant,  tendering  to  this  department  the  aid  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in 
any  investigations  that  it  may  be  thought  proper  to  institute  with  a  view  to  the 
great  reform  of  producing  an  uniformity  of  weights  and  measures  among  com- 
mercial nations.  Be  pleased  to  express  to  the  academy  my  sincere  thanks  for  this 
enlightened  and  patriotic  proceeding,  and  assure  them  that,  with  the  authority  of 
the  President,  I  shall  be  happy  to  avail  myself  of  the  assistance  thus  tendered  to 
me,  and  to  that  end  I  shall  at  all  times  be  happy  to  receive  the  suggestions  of  the 
academy,  or  of  any  committee  that  may  be  named  by  it,  in  conformity  with  the 
spirit  of  the  note  you  have  addressed  to  me. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 
"  PROFESSOR  A.  D.  BACHE, 

"President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences."  2* 

That  the  founders  of  the  Academy  felt  that  it  owed  a  duty  to 
the  Government  is  shown  by  the  rather  singular  provision  which 
was  incorporated  in  the  constitution,  that  each  member  should 
upon  his  admission  "  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  prescribed  by 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  for  its  own  members."  This 
matter  of  an  oath  of  allegiance  was  by  no  means  regarded  as  one 
of  slight  importance,  as  is  indicated  by  the  animated  discussion  to 
which  it  gave  rise  when  the  report  of  the  committee  on  the  consti- 
tution was  brought  before  the  Academy  at  the  first  meeting.25 

24 Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863,  p.  xi. 

25  See  Ames,  Mary  L.    Life  of  Peter  and  Susan  Lesley,  vol.  i,  p.  419. 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  IJ 

In  a  letter  dated  April  23,  1863,  Lesley  writes : 

"  Some  one  argued  that  we  would  lose  government  patronage,  unless  we  bid 
for  it  with  the  oath ;  I  suspect  it  was  only  an  unfortunate  way  of  stating  a  higher 
truth,  that  we  are  the  children  of  the  government,  and  the  Academy  is  the  creation 
of  the  government,  and  owes  it  the  oath  of  allegiance  as  its  first  duty."  20 

In  view  of  this  evidence  and  the  fact  that  several  of  the 
original  members  of  the  Academy  were  conspicuous  for  their 
services  to  the  Government  in  connection  with  the  War,  it  can 
hardly  be  maintained  that  the  offer  of  aid  was  merely  a  form 
of  words  inserted  in  the  bill  of  incorporation  for  the  purpose 
of  inducing  Congress  to  pass  the  measure. 

This  governmental  relationship  is  one  of  the  chief  peculiar- 
ities of  the  National  Academy.  Other  scientific  organizations 
were  founded  whose  membership  was  drawn  from  all  parts  of 
the  country,  whose  scope  covered  all  branches  of  scientific  re- 
search, and  whose  transactions  reflected  credit  on  their  member- 
ship and  on  American  science,  but  none  could  claim  recognition 
as  the  scientific  adviser  to  the  Government. 

While  to-day  many  scientific  bureaus  under  the  national 
Government  are  in  existence,  the  conditions  were  quite  different 
in  1863,  when  the  Academy  was  organized.  At  that  time  the 
only  governmental  organizations  of  this  class  were  the  Coast 
Survey,  the  agricultural  divisions  of  the  Patent  Office,  and  the 
Naval  Observatory.  To-day  technical  information  on  a  wide 
range  of  subjects  is  available  within  the  limits  of  the  civil  service. 
Nevertheless,  the  legislative  and  executive  branches  of  the 
Government  still  continue  to  refer  scientific  matters  of  impor- 
tance to  the  Academy  year  by  year  for  information  and  advice. 

On  March  5,  1863,  two  days  after  the  passage  of  the  bill 
incorporating  the  Academy,  Senator  Wilson  addressed  letters 
to  the  fifty  men  of  science  whose  names  were  mentioned  therein, 
advising  them  of  their  designation  as  incorporators,  and  re- 
questing them  to  fix  on  a  day  when  it  would  be  most  convenient 
to  meet  in  New  York  City  for  the  purpose  of  organization. 
This  letter  is  printed  in  the  first  Annual  of  the  Academy.27 

28  Lor.  cit.,  p.  420. 

"Ann.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863-4  (1865),  p.  10. 


1 8  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

More  than  three-fifths  of  the  incorporators  replied  to  this  re- 
quest, and  on  March  18,  1863,  Senator  Wilson,  having  given 
consideration  to  the  various  dates  suggested,  selected  April  22 
as  the  day,  and  the  chapel  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York  (now  New  York  University)  as  the  place  for  the  meet- 
ing.28 This  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  1 1  o'clock  by  Senator 
Wilson  who  delivered  the  following  address : 29 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  HON.  HENRY  WILSON 
Delivered  at  the  opening  of  the  first  session  of  the  Academy,  April  22,  1863. 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  I  hold  in  my  hand  the  Act,  passed  in  the  closing  hours  of  the 
Thirty-seventh  Congress,  '  To  incorporate  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,'  In 
compliance  with  many  kind  requests  I  am  here  to  call  the  corporators  to  order. 
In  rising  to  perform  this  agreeable  task,  I  crave  for  a  moment  your  indulgence. 

"  This  Act,  under  which  you  have  met  to  organize,  incorporates  in  America, 
and  for  America,  a  National  Institution,  whose  objects,  ranging  over  the  illimitable 
fields  of  science,  are  limited  only  by  the  wondrous  capacities  of  the  human  intellect. 
Such  an  institution  has  been  for  years  in  the  thought  and  on  the  tongue  of  the 
devotees  of  science,  but  its  attainment  seemed  far  in  the  future.  Now  it  is  an 
achieved  fact.  Our  country  has  spoken  it  into  being,  in  this  '  dark  and  troubled 
night '  of  its  history,  and  commissioned  you,  gentlemen,  to  mould  and  fashion  its 
organization,  to  infuse  into  it  that  vital  and  animating  spirit  that  shall  win  in 
the  boundless  domains  of  science  the  glittering  prizes  of  achievement  that  will 
gleam  forever  on  the  brow  of  the  nation. 

"  When,  a  few  months  ago,  a  gentleman  whose  name  is  known  and  honored 
in  both  hemispheres,  expressed  to  me  the  desire  that  an  Academy  of  Physical 
Sciences  should  be  founded  in  America,  and  that  I  would  at  least  make  the 
effort  to  obtain  such  an  act  of  incorporation  for  the  scientific  men  of  the  United 
States,  I  replied,  that  it  seemed  more  fitting  that  some  statesman  of  ripe  scholarship 
should  take  the  lead  in  securing  such  a  measure,  but  that  I  felt  confident  I  could 
prepare,  introduce,  and  carry  through  Congress  a  measure  so  eminently  calculated 
to  advance  the  cause  of  science,  and  to  reflect  honor  upon  our  country.  I  promptly 
assumed  the  responsibility,  and  with  such  aid  and  suggestions  as  I  could  obtain, 
I  prepared,  introduced,  and  by  personal  effort  with  members  of  both  Houses  of 
Congress,  carried  through  this  act  of  incorporation  without  even  a  division  in 
either  House. 

28  Op.  clt.,  p.  IT.     New  York  University  at  that  time  occupied  a  large  building  of  light- 
colored  stone  on  the  east  side  of  Washington  Square.     The  chapel  was  in  this  building. 

29  Op.  cit.,  pp.  12-15. 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  19 

"  The  suggestion  was  sometimes  made  that  the  nation  is  engaged  in  a  fearful 
struggle  for  existence,  and  the  moment  was  not  well  chosen  to  press  such  a 
measure.  But  I  thought  otherwise.  I  thought  it  just  the  fitting  time  to  act.  I 
wanted  the  savans  of  the  old  world,  as  they  turn  their  eyes  hitherward,  to  see 
that  amid  the  fire  and  blood  of  the  most  gigantic  civil  war  in  the  annals  of  nations, 
the  statesmen  and  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  calm  confidence  of  assured 
power,  are  fostering  the  elevating,  purifying,  and  consolidating  institutions  of 
religion  and  benevolence,  literature,  art  and  sciencfe.  I  wanted  the  men  of 
Europe,  who  profess  to  see  in  America  the  failure  of  republican  institutions,  to 
realize  that  the  people  of  the  United  States,  while  eliminating  from  their  system 
that  ever-disturbing  element  of  discord,  bequeathed  to  them  by  the  colonial  and 
commercial  policy  of  England,  are  cherishing  the  institutions  that  elevate  man 
and  ennoble  nations.  The  land  resounds  with  the  tread  of  armies,  its  bright 
waters  are  crimsoned,  and  its  fields  reddened  with  fraternal  blood.  Patriotism 
surely  demands  that  we  strive  to  make  this  now  discordant,  torn,  and  bleeding 
nation  one  and  indivisible.  The  National  Academy  of  Sciences  will,  I  feel  sure, 
be  now  and  hereafter  another  element  of  power  to  keep  in  their  orbits,  around 
the  great  central  sun  of  the  Union,  this  constellation  of  sovereign  commonwealths. 

"  This  act  of  incorporation  may  not  be,  is  not,  perfect.  The  task  has  been  one 
of  difficulty  and  delicacy.  The  number  of  members  must  be  limited,  while  the 
most  eminent  men  of  science  must  be  recognized,  and  sectional  claims  harmonized. 
If  unintentional  injustice  has  been  done  to  any  one,  if  msitakes  have  been  made, 
time  will,  I  trust,  correct  the  injustice  and  the  mistakes.  Changes  will  surely 
come.  '  Death  is  in  the  world,'  and  this  original  list  of  honored  names  will  not 
remain  long  unbroken.  If  men  of  merit  have  been  forgotten  in  this  act  of  incor- 
poration, the  Academy  should  seize  the  first  and  every  occasion  to  right  the 
seeming  wrong. 

"  This  Academy  is  destined,  I  trust,  to  live  as  long  as  the  republic  shall  endure, 
and  to  bear  upon  its  rolls  the  names  of  the  savans  of  coming  generations.  Let  it 
then  advance  high  its  standard.  Let  it  be  as  inflexible  as  justice,  and  as  uncom- 
promising as  truth.  Let  it  speak  with  the  authority  of  knowledge,  that  pretension 
may  shrink  abashed  before  it,  and  merit  everywhere  turn  to  it  confident  of 
recognition. 

"  In  the  Providence  of  God,  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  was  summoned  to  the 
consideration  of  measures  of  transcendent  magnitude.  It  enacted  measures,  empow- 
ering the  government  to  raise  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  and  millions  of  men, 
to  protect  the  menaced  life  of  the  nation  and  preserve  the  vital  spirit  of  freedom. 
It  dealt  with  great  questions  of  revenue  and  of  finance.  It  obliterated  an  abhor- 
rent system  from  the  national  capital,  and  engraved  freedom  upon  every  rood  of 
the  national  territory.  It  consecrated  the  public  domain  to  homesteads  for  the 
homeless  and  landless,  and  authorized  the  construction  of  a  railway  to  unite  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  seas.  The  enactment  of  this  act  to  incorporate  the 


20  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Academy  of  Sciences,  was  not  the  least  in  the  long  list  of  acts  the  Thirty-seventh 
Congress  gave  to  the  country,  which  will  leave  their  impress  upon  the  nation  for 
ages  yet  to  come.  It  was  my  fortune  to  take  a  humble  part  in  these  great  measures 
of  legislation.  It  is  a  source  of  profound  gratification  to  me,  that,  amid  the  pres- 
sure of  public  affairs,  I  have  been  enabled  to  contribute  something  to  found  this 
Academy  for  the  advancement  of  the  physical  sciences  in  America.  It  will  ever 
be  among  my  most  cherished  recollections,  that  I  have  been  permitted  through 
your  courtesy  to  unite  with  you  in  organizing  this  National  Academy,  which,  we 
fondly  hope,  will  gather  around  it,  in  the  centuries  yet  to  come,  the  illustrious  sons 
of  genius  and  of  learning,  whose  researches  will  enrich  the  sciences,  and  reflect 
unfading  lustre  upon  the  republic." 

The  official  records  of  the  Academy  do  not  contain  an  account 
of  this  first  meeting  or  a  list  of  the  members  who  attended  it. 
The  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser  of  April  23,  1863,  how- 
ever, contains  a  list  of  the  names  and  states  that  Professor  Henry 
was  elected  President  pro  tern.,  and  Professor  Caswell,  temporary 
secretary.  The  notice  is  as  follows: 

"  THE  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCE. 

"  The  last  Congress  incorporated  a  National  Academy  of  Science,  in  pursuance 
of  which  the  following  thirty-one  corporators  of  the  institution  assembled  in  the 
chapel  of  the  New  York  University  for  the  purpose  of  organizing: — Prof.  Agassiz, 
Stephen  Alexander,  A.  D.  Bache,  F.  [A.]  P.  Barnard,  J.  T.  [G.]  Barnard, 
U.  S.  A.;  W.  H.  C.  Bartlett,  U.  S.  M.  C.;  Profs.  Caswell,  Coffin,  Dana,  C.  H. 
Davis,  U.  S.  N.;  Profs.  Wazer  [Frazer~\,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  J.  W.  [Tkf.]  Gilless 
[GiV/fw],  U.  S.  A.  [17.  5.  N.]  ;  B.  A.  Gould,  Prof.  Guyot,  James  Hall,  Joseph 
Henry,  Hilyard  [J.  E.  Hilgard],  Hubbard,  U.  S.  N.  O.;  Profs.  Leidy,  Lesley, 
Newberry,  Newton,  Peirce,  Vauman  Rogers  \Fairman  Rogers],  R.  E.  Rogers,  W. 
B.  Rogers,  L.  M.  Rutherford  \_Rutherf urd~\,  Joseph  Saxton,  B.  Silliman,  Jr., 
Joseph  Winlock,  U.  S.  Nautical  Almanac  Office.  The  number  of  corporators  is 
restricted  to  fifty.  The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Senator  Wilson.  Pro- 
fessor Henry  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute  \_sic~\  was  chosen  president  pro  tern., 
and  Professor  Caswell,  temporary  secretary.  The  proceedings  were  conducted 
with  closed  doors." 

This  account  is  probably  correct,  except  for  slight  errors 
in  the  spelling  of  names,  etc.  We  know  that  the  number  of 
incorporators  was  50.  Senator  Wilson  stated  that  more  than 
three-fifths  responded  to  his  letter  regarding  the  meeting,  and 
the  number  31  in  the  newspaper  article  is  therefore,  quite  prob- 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  21 

ably  correct.  Lesley  informs  us  that  Professor  Henry  was  in 
the  chair,  and  mentions  as  being  present  also,  Agassiz,  Alex- 
ander, Bache,  Barnard,  Caswell  "  the  secretary,"  Frazer,  Gould, 
Leidy,  Lesley,  R.  E.  Rogers  and  W.  B.  Rogers,  all  of  whom  are 
included  in  the  Advertiser  list. 

The  New  York  Daily  Tribune  of  April  23,  1863,  informs  us 
that  Senator  Wilson's  address  was  followed  by  a  brief  statement 
by  Professor  Agassiz  of  "  the  fundamental  principles  upon 
which  a  permanent  edifice  of  science  should  be  based,"  also,  that 
a  committee  of  nine  was  appointed  to  draft  a  form  of  organiza- 
tion. The  members  of  this  committee,  according  to  the  New 
York  World  of  the  same  date  were  as  follows:  Caswell,  Bache, 
Rodgers,  Gibbs,  Frazer,  Silliman,  Jr.,  Gould,  Peirce  and 
Agassiz.  The  Herald  of  that  date  states  that  the  committee  met  at 
the  Brevoort  House  in  secret  session,  and  substitutes  the  names  of 
Henry  and  Winlock  for  Caswell  and  Gibbs.  It  also  includes 
Rogers,  instead  of  Rodgers,  which,  as  will  be  shown  presently, 
was  correct. 

Corroborating  these  newspaper  items  regarding  the  committee 
on  the  constitution  is  a  remark  in  Lesley's  letter  of  April  23, 
1863.  "Yesterday  I  went  down  to  the  eight  o'clock  evening 
session  [of  the  Academy],  at  which  we  heard  and  began  to  vote 
upon  the  constitution  and  by-laws,  as  reported  by  the  committee 
of  nine  appointed  in  the  morning."  30  Further  corroboration, 
together  with  other  interesting  details,  is  found  in  a  letter  of 
William  B.  Rogers,  dated  April  28,  1863,  from  which  the  follow- 
ing is  an  extract: 

"  Of  the  fifty  corporators  named  in  the  bill,  thirty-two  were  present  the  first 
day,  and  twenty-seven  during  the  rest  of  the  session.  A  committee  of  organization 
was  first  appointed,  consisting  of  nine,  Bache  being  chairman,  supported  by  Ben- 
jamin Gould,  Agassiz,  Peirce,  Benjamin  Silliman,  Frazer,  etc.,  and  to  which  I 
also  was  admitted.  The  Constitution  and  Rules,  most  elaborately  prepared,  were 
read  from  the  MS.  by  Bache.  There  was  no  dissent  on  any  important  point, 
unless  when  I  made  objection.  One  of  the  provisions  made  the  tenure  of  the  offices 
of  president,  vice-president  and  secretary,  for  life.  To  this  no  one  objected,  and 
I  let  it  pass  without  voting  until,  the  morning's  task  being  closed,  Bache  was 

80  Life  of  Lesley,  vol.  x,  p.  419. 


22  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

about  shutting  up  his  book.  Then  I  rose,  and  calmly  called  their  attention  to 
this  clause,  told  them  that  to  exact  that  would  be  to  blast  every  hope  of  success, 
and  so  impressed  them  with  the  responsibility  of  such  a  course  that  they  voted 
the  term  of  six  years  instead  of  for  life."  31 

The  article  of  the  constitution  which  seems  to  have  provoked 
the  most  animated  discussion  was,  as  already  mentioned,  that 
which  provided  that  the  members  of  the  Academy  should  take 
an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Government.  This  is  not  surprising, 
when  one  recalls  the  condition  of  the  country  at  the  time.  The 
article  was  adopted,  however,  and  the  whole  business  of  the 
meeting  was  completed,  including  the  adoption  of  the  constitu- 
tion and  by-laws,  and  the  election  of  officers  in  a  session  of 
three  days,  ending  on  the  afternoon  of  April  24.32  Lesley,  in 
his  cautious  spirit,  remarks  on  "  the  splendid  success  of  the 
organization  as  it  appears,"  and  continues  "  Time  will  show  how 
much  reality  underlies  this  show.  We  have  laid  down  the  base 
of  a  pyramid  for  the  ages."  Hubbard  was  more  enthusiastic. 
"  A  better  three  days  for  science  were  never  spent,"  he  writes 
to  his  brother,  "  The  inauguration  of  this  Academy  marks  the 
most  important  epoch  ever  witnessed  by  science  in  America." 

The  account  of  this  first  meeting,  as  given  by  Professor  Bache 
in  his  report  as  President  of  the  Academy,  is  as  follows : 

"  In  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  that  Act  [of  incorporation],  the  members 
of  the  National  Academy  met  in  New  York  on  the  22d  of  April,  1863,  and  com- 
pleted their  organization,  renewing  by  their  loyal  oath  their  obligations  to  serve 
their  country  and  its  constituted  authorities  to  the  best  of  their  abilities  and 
knowledge,  on  such  subjects  as  were  embraced  in  their  charter,  and  upon  which 
they  might  be  consulted,  and  adopting  a  Constitution  and  Laws  which  they  sup- 
posed would  enable  them  to  carry  on  successfully  the  plans  of  Congress  as 
sketched  in  the  charter. 

"  Providing  for  the  full  and  deliberate  consideration  and  arrangement  of  their 
laws  by  a  Committee  selected  for  their  capability  in  such  a  task,  the  Academy 

31  Life  and  Letters  of  William  Barton  Rogers,  edited  by  his  wife,  vol.  2,  p.  161,  1896. 

32  Although  President  Bache  in  his  first  report  states  that  the  constitution   and  by-laws 
were  adopted  at  this  meeting,  it  seems  probable  that  the  action  was  informal,  as  they  are 
mentioned  later  in  the  same  report,  as  having  been  "finally  passed"  on  January  6,  1864. 
(See  p.  8.) 

88  B.  A.  Gould,  Eulogy  on  Joseph  S.  Hubbard.  Ann.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863-4  (1865), 
p.  72. 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  ACADEMY  23 

adopted  the  laws  presented  to  their  discussion,  divided  into  Classes  and  Sections 
for  the  consideration  of  matters  of  science,  elected  officers,  and  adjourned  to  a 
stated  day,  the  4th  of  January,  and  to  Washington,  the  National  Capital,  with 
which  they  were  henceforth  to  be  connected  in  their  membership  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences."  3i 

The  organization  for  the  year  1863  was  as  follows: 

President,  ALEXANDER  DALLAS  BACHE. 
Vice-President,  JAMES  DWIGHT  DANA. 
Foreign  Secretary,  Louis  AGASSIZ. 
Home  Secretary,  WOLCOTT  GIBBS. 
Treasurer,  FAIRMAN  ROGERS. 

CLASS  OF  MATHEMATICS  AND  PHYSICS 
Chairman,  BENJAMIN  PEIRCE. 
Secretary,  BENJAMIN  A.  GOULD. 

CLASS  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 
Chairman,  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  SR. 
Secretary,  J.  S.  NEWBERRY. 


Council:  CHARLES  HENRY  DAVIS,  JOHN  TORREY,  LEWIS  M.  RUTHER- 
FURD,  J.  PETER  LESLEY,  and  the  officers  and  chairmen  of  classes 
ex  officio. 

In  addition  to  considering  the  constitution  and  by-laws  and 
electing  officers,  the  Academy  at  this  first  meeting  appointed  a 
committee  on  the  form  of  a  diploma,  on  a  corporate  seal,  and 
on  a  stamp  for  books  and  other  property,  and  also  a  committee 
on  the  mode  of  electing  foreign  associates.  The  latter  committee 
did  not  report  until  January,  1864,  and  the  former  appears  not 
to  have  presented  any  formal  report. 

"Ann.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863-4   (1865),  pp.  48,  49. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY 

IN  chronicling  the  history  of  the  Academy  it  has  seemed  de- 
sirable to  divide  the  half  century  into  periods  of  ten  years 
each,  although  in  some  instances,  for  the  sake  of  clearness, 
the  whole  story  of  a  transaction  is  given  in  one  place  without 
regard  to  years. 

1863-1867 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Academy  held  in  New  York  on 
April  22,  1863,  was  a  meeting  for  organization.  It  was  devoted, 
as  already  shown,  to  the  consideration  of  a  constitution  and 
by-laws,  the  election  of  officers  and  a  council,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  certain  committees.  In  accordance  with  the  provisions 
of  the  constitution,  the  members  arranged  themselves  in  two 
classes,  (a)  mathematics  and  physics,  and  (b)  natural  history; 
and  a  chairman  and  secretary  were  elected  for  each  class.  Five 
sections  were  included  under  each  class.  The  assignment  of 
members  to  these  sections  seems  not  to  have  been  thoroughly 
carried  out  until  the  meeting  of  August,  1864,  and  even  at  that 
date  the  names  of  several  members  do  not  appear  under  any 
section.  The  names  of  the  sections  and  the  number  of  members 
enrolled  under  each,  which  are  matters  of  considerable  interest, 
are  shown  in  the  following  table : 

CLASS  OF  MATHEMATICS  AND  PHYSICS  Number  of 

Members 

Sect.  i.  Mathematics  6 

Sect.  2.  Physics 6 

Sect.  3.  Astronomy,  Geography  and  Geodesy 9 

Sect.  4.  Mechanics 6 

Sect.  5.  Chemistry 3 

—    30 
25 


26  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

CLASS  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY  Number  of 

Members 

Sect.   I.  Mineralogy  and   Geology 6 

Sect.  2.  Zoology  5 

Sect.  3.  Botany I 

Sect.  4.  Anatomy  and   Physiology 2 

Sect.  5.  Ethnology o 

—     14 

Total    44 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  figures  that  the  number  of 
members  who  joined  the  sections  concerned  with  the  physical 
sciences  was  twice  as  large  as  the  number  which  joined  those 
concerned  with  the  natural  sciences.  This  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  Academy  movement  was  promoted  by  the  physicists 
rather  than  the  naturalists.  As  indicated  by  certain  remarks 
of  Professor  Bache  and  Senator  Wilson,  the  original  plan  seems 
to  have  contemplated  the  formation  of  an  academy  of  physical 
sciences. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  the  paleontologists  aligned  them- 
selves with  geology  rather  than  zoology.  The  section  of  botany 
had  but  one  member,  and  that  of  ethnology,  none.  Half  the 
membership,  in  so  far  as  it  was  assigned  to  sections,  assembled 
in  the  first  three  physical  sections, — mathematics,  physics,  and 
astronomy  (with  geography  and  geology) . 

The  first  scientific  session  of  the  Academy,  following  the 
meeting  for  organization,  was  held  in  Washington  on  January 
4  to  9,  1864,  in  the  Capitol,  in  the  rooms  of  the  Pacific  Rail- 
road Committee  of  the  Senate  which  were  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Academy.  In  the  interval  between  these  two  meetings, 
however,  six  committees  on  technical  subjects  had  been  ap- 
pointed. These  reported  at  the  January  meeting,  and  in  three 
cases  the  reports  were  adopted  and  the  committees  discharged, 
while  in  the  other  three  the  committees  were  continued.  Four 
additional  committees  were  appointed  before  the  close  of  1864. 
The  work  of  these  committees  and  of  others  appointed  sub- 
sequently forms  the  subject  of  a  later  chapter.  The  importance 
of  the  scientific  committees  was  felt  by  President  Bache,  who 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  27 

considered  that  it  was  largely  through  their  activities  that  the 
Academy  was  to  fulfil  its  functions.  In  his  report  for  1863  he 
remarks: 

"  The  first  trial  of  the  working  of  the  Academy  was  to  be  made,  and  the  first 
effort  was  to  be  through  the  action  of  a  Committee  on  Weights  and  Measures, 
for  the  appointment  of  which,  to  consider  the  subject  of  the  '  Uniformity  of 
Weights,  Measures  and  Coins,  considered  in  relation  to  domestic  and  inter- 
national commerce,'  the  Academy  had  been  addressed  before  its  adjournment  by 
the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  S.  P.  Chase. 

"  It  was  obvious  that  the  only  effective  and  prompt  mode  of  action  by  members 
scattered  over  the  United  States,  as  were  the  fifty  named  in  the  charter,  must  be 
through  committees.  Action  must  originate  with  committees,  and  be  perfected  by 
discussion  in  the  general  meetings  of  the  Academy,  or  in  the  classes  or  sections. 
Decisions  to  be  finally  pronounced  by  the  entire  body."  1 

For  the  first  time,  the  Academy  listened  to  the  reading  of 
scientific  papers  by  its  members.  In  the  program  were  in- 
cluded the  names  of  Agassiz,  Alexander,  Bache,  F.  A.  P. 
Barnard,  J.  G.  Barnard,  B.  A.  Gould,  Henry,  Peirce,  Ruther- 
furd  and  Strong.  The  subjects  of  the  16  papers  that  were  pre- 
sented were  all  connected  with  the  physical  sciences,  except 
three  by  Professor  Agassiz  (two  of  which  related  to  fishes  and 
one  to  individuality  among  animals),  and  one  by  Stephen 
Alexander  on  the  forms  of  icebergs.  The  preponderance  of 
physical  subjects  is  not  surprising,  when  it  is  recalled  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  membership  at  this  time  were  enrolled  in  the  class 
of  mathematics  and  physics. 

The  papers  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Publication, 
which  was  instructed  to  "  take  order  "  for  their  publication, 
while  the  Council  was  directed  to  provide  the  means.  The 
Academy  was  at  this  time  without  funds,  except  the  amounts 
received  from  members  as  dues,  and  the  orders  could  not,  there- 
fore, be  carried  out  immediately.  It  was  not  until  1866  that 
the  first  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  was  issued,  and 
this  contained  but  two  of  the  16  papers  read  at  the  first  scientific 
meeting  in  1864.  It  was  proposed  in  1866  to  collect  and  pub- 

1  Annual  Report  of  the  President  for  1863.    Ann.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863-4  (J865),  p. 4.9. 


cue 


28  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

lish  the  minor  papers  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Academy,  but 
this  action  was  never  taken,  the  first  issue  of  the  Proceedings 
having  been  devoted  to  the  reports  and  minutes. 

Besides  formally  adopting  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  acting 
on  reports  of  scientific  committees,  and  listening  to  scientific 
communication,  the  Academy  transacted  other  important  busi- 
ness at  the  meeting  of  January,  1864.  It  elected  the  first  foreign 
members,  or  "  Foreign  Associates,"  as  they  were  styled  in  the 
constitution.  The  by-laws  provided  that  not  more  than  ten 
Foreign  Associates  might  be  elected  at  any  one  meeting,  and  the 
Academy  proceeded  at  once  to  elect  this  number.  This  first  list 
comprised  Sir  Wm.  Rowan  Hamilton,  Karl  Ernst  Von  Baer, 
Michael  Faraday,  J.  B.  Elie  de  Beaumont,  Sir  David  Brewster, 
G.  A.  A.  Plana,  Robert  Bunsen,  F.  W.  A.  Argelander,  Michel 
Chasles  and  Henri  Milne-Edwards. 

The  Academy  had  not  been  in  existence  six  months  when 
it  lost  one  of  its  original  members,  Professor  Hubbard,  one  of 
the  youngest  of  the  incorporators,  who  died  on  August  16,  1863, 
at  the  age  of  46  years.  The  event  was  reported  at  the  meeting 
of  January,  1864,  and  in  accordance  with  the  by-laws,  Dr.  B.  A. 
Gould  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  biographical  notice.  This 
notice,  the  first  of  the  series  of  biographical  sketches  published 
by  the  Academy,  was  read  at  the  New  Haven  meeting,  August 
5,  1864,  and  printed  in  the  first  Annual.2 

In  accordance  with  the  by-laws,  the  death  of  three  eminent 
scientific  men  of  the  country  not  members  of  the  Academy  was 
announced  at  the  meeting  of  January,  1864,  and  three  members 
were  appointed  to  prepare  biographical  sketches.  Only  two  of 
the  sketches  appear  to  have  been  presented,  however,  and  the 
practice  was  not  continued  in  subsequent  years,  doubtless  on 
account  of  the  burden  which  it  imposed  on  the  membership,  and 
the  lack  of  funds  for  printing. 

Of  the  second  session  of  the  Academy  for  the  year  1864, 
which  was  held  in  New  Haven  on  the  5th  and  6th  of  August, 
little  has  been  recorded,  beyond  the  fact  that  ten  papers  were 

2  PP.  71-112. 


29 

read,  including  the  two  biographical  sketches  of  non-members 
already  mentioned.  Of  the  remaining  eight  papers,  all  but 
one  related  to  the  physical  sciences. 

The  Academy  lost  three  more  of  its  original  members  dur- 
ing the  year  1864,  Edward  Hitchcock,  who  died  on  February 
27,  Joseph  Gilbert  Totten,  who  died  on  April  22,  and  Benjamin 
Silliman,  Sr.,  who  died  on  November  24.  Biographical  notices 
of  them  were  published  in  the  Annual. 

The  year  1865  was  signalized  by  the  publication  of  the  first 
Annual,  a  pamphlet  of  112  pages  in  duodecimo  form,  which 
appeared  between  January  i,  and  February  13.  It  contained 
the  Act  of  Incorporation,  the  constitution  and  by-laws,  a  list 
of  officers,  members,  foreign  associates  and  committees,  the 
first  report  of  the  President,  and  a  eulogy  of  J.  S.  Hubbard, 
one  of  the  incorporators.  As  the  Academy  was  without  funds, 
the  expense  of  printing  was  met  by  contributions  of  individual 
members,  and  in  accordance  with  a  vote  of  the  Academy  it  was 
distributed  to  members  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  to  the 
heads  of  departments  of  the  Government.3 

Although  the  eighteenth  by-law  of  the  Academy  provided 
that  the  Annual  should  be  published  on  the  first  day  of  each 
year,  this  first  number  did  not  appear  until  the  Academy  had 
been  in  existence  nearly  two  years,  and  only  two  additional 
numbers  were  issued,  dated,  respectively,  1866  and  1867.  The 
by-law,  or  rule,  as  it  was  afterwards  called,  remained  in  force, 
however,  until  1896,  when  it  was  finally  stricken  out.4 

The  year  1865  was  further  characterized  by  the  fact  that 
no  requests  for  the  investigation  of  scientific  matters  were  re- 
ceived from  the  Government  and  no  new  scientific  committees 
appointed. 

Thirty-four  papers  were  read  at  the  scientific  sessions  of  this 
year,  or  somewhat  more  than  were  presented  in  1864.  The  pro- 
gram covered  a  much  wider  scope  than  that  of  the  preceding  year. 
While  astronomy,  physics  and  mathematics  were  well  repre- 

sProc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  1877,  p.  43. 
*  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1896,  p.  10. 


30  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

sented,  ten  papers  on  geological  subjects  were  presented,  four 
papers  on  zoology,  two  papers  relating  to  anthropology,  etc. 

The  Academy  lost  one  of  its  original  members  this  year, 
James  Melville  Gilliss,  who  died  on  February  9,  1865.  It  was 
also  unfortunate  as  regards  the  presiding  officers,  President 
Bache  having  been  in  ill  health,  and  the  Vice-President,  James 
Dwight  Dana,  having  been  forced  to  resign  on  August  23,  from 
the  same  cause.5  The  report  to  Congress  on  the  operations  of  the 
Academy  during  1865  was  submitted  by  Professor  Henry. 

As  in  the  preceding  year,  the  Washington  meeting  of  the 
Academy  was  held  in  the  Capitol.  The  August  meeting  was 
held  at  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  Few  details  have  been 
recorded  regarding  either  of  these  meetings.  From  Lesley's 
letters  we  learn  that  the  Northampton  session  opened  with  13 
members  present,  which  number  increased  to  20  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  This  session  opened  on  August  23,  and  closed  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  26th. 

The  division  of  the  membership  between  the  two  classes 
"  Mathematics  and  Physics  "  and  "  Natural  History  "  under- 
went few  changes  in  1865,  but  the  section  of  "  Ethnology  "  came 
into  actual  existence  through  the  assignment  of  one  member 
thereto.  Advantage  was  also  taken  in  several  sections  of  a 
provision  of  the  constitution  whereby  members  assigned  to  the 

8  Professor  Dana's  reasons  for  resigning  are  mentioned  in  letters  written  by  him  to  Pro- 
fessor Baird  and  Professor  Guyot.  On  December  10,  1864,  he  wrote  to  Professor  Baird: 
"As  the  time  for  our  January  (1865)  meeting  of  the  National  Academy  approaches,  I 
become  more  and  more  convinced  that  I  ought  not  to  encounter  the  labor  and  fatigue  of  the 
occasion.  Had  I  no  duties  but  those  of  a  private  in  the  Academy  I  should  have  less  fear. 
But  with  the  cares  of  President,  which  involve  meetings  of  council,  as  well  as  all 
business  meetings,  at  least,  of  the  Academy,  and  much  more  of  an  outside  nature,  I  am  sure 

I  should  be  unwise  to  risk  attendance I  should  much  prefer  now  to  throw  up  the 

position ;  for  besides  my  incapabilities  from  imperfect  health,  I  should  enjoy  myself  far  more 
if  I  could  have  my  time  and  strength  to  mingle  socially  with  the  members  present."  (The 
Life  of  James  Dwight  Dana,  by  D.  C.  Oilman,  1899,  pp.  362,  363.) 

To  Professor  Guyot  he  wrote  on  February  14,  1865:  "I  wish  most  heartily  I  were  out 
of  the  office  of  Vice-President,  and  I  think  I  shall  take  an  early  opportunity  to  abdicate. 
It  makes  the  meetings,  now  that  Bache  is  unwell,  times  of  great  fatigue  for  me,  and  of  no 
satisfactory  intercourse  with  friends  on  the  ground.  I  dislike  the  duty,  and  care  nothing 
for  the  honor  of  it.  You  will  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  if  my  resignation  is  handed  in  not 
long  hence."  (Op.  cit.,  p.  329.) 


.      31 

various  sections  could  be  elected  honorary  members  of  others. 
Thus,  a  member  of  the  section  of  chemistry  was  elected  to  the 
section  of  botany,  a  member  of  the  section  of  mathematics  to 
the  section  of  astronomy,  etc. 

The  year  1866  found  the  Academy  without  presiding  officers. 
The  first  President,  Professor  Bache,  continued  in  ill-health 
and  was  unable  to  attend  the  meetings,  and  the  Vice-President, 
J.  D.  Dana,  as  already  mentioned,  resigned  in  August,  1865, 
from  the  same  cause.  The  Academy  being  thus  without  presid- 
ing officers,  proceeded  on  January  25,  1866,  to  elect  Joseph 
Henry  as  Vice-President.  "  On  taking  the  chair,  Mr.  Henry 
stated  that  while  he  was  highly  honored  by  the  election,  he  felt 
much  hesitation  in  accepting  the  office,  since  his  duties  in  con- 
nection with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  were  more  than 
sufficient  to  occupy  his  attention,  and  that  he  could  only  accept 
the  responsible  position  with  the  understanding  that  he  would 
be  permitted  to  retire  as  soon  as  the  president  should  be  able 
to  resume  his  duties,  or  his  place  could  be  filled  by  another." 
As  the  event  proved,  however,  Henry  did  not  retire,  but  re- 
mained at  the  head  of  the  Academy  for  twelve  years. 

The  Academy  lost  another  of  its  original  members,  Augustus 
A.  Gould,  who  died  on  September  15,  1866. 

This  year  again  the  Government  sought  the  advice  of  the 
Academy  on  technical  scientific  matters  and  two  committees 
were  appointed,  one  on  the  improvement  of  the  harbor  of  San 
Juan  del  Norte,  or  Greytown,  in  Nicaragua,  and  the  other  on 
proving  and  gauging  spirits  subjected  to  duty.  Both  committees 
presented  reports,  which  were  published  in  the  annual  report 
of  the  Academy,  that  relating  to  the  gauging  of  spirits  being 
voluminous  and  detailed. 

Thirty-eight  papers  were  presented  for  discussion  at  the  two 
scientific  sessions  held  in  1866,  or  a  few  more  than  were  included 
in  the  programs  of  the  preceding  year.7  The  subjects  covered 
a  wider  range  than  those  of  the  preceding  year.  The  greatest 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  p.  i.    Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  44,  4oth  Congress,  ist  Session. 
T  Including  three  biographical  sketches. 


32  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

number  of  papers  were  on  astronomy,  followed  by  zoology, 
physics  and  geography. 

The  Academy  this  year  for  the  first  time  voiced  its  interest 
in  scientific  activities  outside  its  own  sphere  by  passing  resolu- 
tions expressing  satisfaction  at  the  action  of  the  Government 
in  authorizing  the  employment  of  metric  weights  and  measures, 
and  recommending  that  the  metric  system  be  taught  in  the 
public  schools,  and  be  made  a  subject  of  examination  for  admis- 
sion to  colleges  and  universities ;  and  also  "  that  the  Academy 
considered  it  highly  desirable  that  the  discretionary  power 
granted  by  Congress  to  the  Postmaster-General  to  use  the 
metrical  weights  in  the  post-offices  be  exercised  at  the  earliest 
convenient  day."  Another  resolution  was  adopted,  commending 
the  generosity  of  Nathaniel  Thayer,  of  Boston,  in  fitting  out  an 
expedition  to  South  America  under  the  conduct  of  Professor 
Agassiz. 

The  summer  meeting  was  again  held  at  Northampton,  Massa- 
chusetts. Few  details  regarding  it  have  been  recorded,  but  it 
was  referred  to  by  one  who  was  present  as  "  a  brilliant  meeting." 

An  important  event  of  the  year  1866  was  the  publication  of 
the  first  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy.  It  was  in 
quarto  form  and  comprised  342  pages.  The  volume  contained 
five  articles,  three  on  astronomical  subjects,  one  on  the  distri- 
bution of  certain  diseases  in  the  United  States  and  another  on 
rifled  guns.  It  was  distributed  through  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution to  34  libraries  in  the  United  States  and  24  in  other 
countries.  A  second  number  of  the  Annual  was  also  published. 

The  events  of  1867  were  numerous  and  important.  At  the 
opening  of  the  year,  in  February,  the  Academy  lost  its  first 
President,  Professor  Bache.  In  his  report  as  Vice-President, 
Professor  Henry  remarked:  "  During  the  past  year  the  Acad- 
emy has  been  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  its  distinguished 
president,  Alexander  Dallas  Bache.  This  eminent  savant  de- 
voted his  life  industriously  to  the  advance  of  science,  and  may 
be  said  to  have  fallen  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  his  country  in  the 
hour  of  its  peril."  Bache  was  one  of  the  principal  leaders,  if 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  33 

not  the  prime  mover,  in  the  formation  of  the  Academy,  and 
his  deep  interest  in  its  work  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he 
bequeathed  his  estate  to  the  Academy  as  a  fund  for  the  promotion 
of  researches  in  the  natural  and  physical  sciences.  His  original 
intention  was  to  place  the  fund  under  the  control  of  a  board,  or, 
in  case  the  board  failed  to  act,  that  the  trustees  of  the  estate 
should  apply  the  funds  to  the  purposes  specified,  under  the 
direction  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society.  Soon  after 
the  organization  of  the  National  Academy,  however,  on  July 
15,  1863,  he  added  a  codicil  to  his  will  which  reads  as  follows: 

"  ITEM:  My  will  is  that,  upon  the  death  of  my  wife,  all  the  rest  and  residue 
of  my  estate  8  shall  be  paid  over  to  and  vest  in  the  corporation  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  incorporated  by  act  of  Congress,  passed  the  3d  day  of 
March,  A.  D.  1863,  whom  I  hereby  appoint  trustees  in  the  place  of  my  said 
executors  under  the  fourth  clause  of  my  said  will,  to  apply  the  income,  according 
to  the  directions  in  the  said  clause  contained,  to  the  prosecution  of  researches  in 
physical  and  natural  science  by  assisting  experimentalists  and  observers  in  such 
manner  and  in  such  sums  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  the  board  of  direction  in  the 
said  clause  named."  9 

Mrs.  Bache  died  in  February,  1870,  and  in  1871  the  treasurer, 
Fairman  Rogers,  reported  that  the  amount  handed  over  to  him 
by  the  executors  of  the  estate  of  Professor  Bache  was  $40,515.07, 
"  together  with  an  annual  ground  rent  of  $102,  and  some  lands 
in  Missouri  not  now  [then]  available."  10  In  1879,  this  amount 
was  increased  by  $4650,  on  the  death  of  Henry  Wood  Bache,  a 
nephew  of  Professor  Bache,  who  was  a  beneficiary  under  the 
will  of  Mrs.  Bache.11  The  income  of  the  original  fund 
amounted  in  1872  to  about  $2500.  The  first  allotment  for 
scientific  research  was  made  in  1871  by  the  board  having  the 
fund  in  charge,  the  chairman  of  which  was  Joseph  Henry. 
The  amount  of  the  grant  was  $500,  and  was  the  first  of  a  series 
made  to  Professor  J.  E.  Hilgard  in  connection  with  the  mag- 
netic survey  of  the  United  States. 

8  The  property  excepted  was  a  house  in  Washington,  which  he  gave  to  his  sister,  but 
with  the  provision  that  after  her  death  and  that  of  his  wife  it  should  also  pass  to  the 
Academy. 

9  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1867,  p.  n.    Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  106,  4oth  Congress,  zd  Session. 
10Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  81. 

11  Loc.  cit.,  p.  156. 


34  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Through  this  bequest,  the  Academy  was  put  in  possession  of 
an  important  instrumentality  for  the  promotion  of  scientific 
research,  and  nearly  every  year,  for  forty  years,  the  Academy 
has  granted  one  or  more  allotments  for  investigations  in  various 
branches  of  science,  but  chiefly  in  physics  and  astronomy.  By 
1889  the  number  of  allotments  had  risen  to  79,  amounting  in  all 
to  more  than  $38,000."  Professor  Bache's  generous  action  has 
not  only  been  of  direct  benefit  to  American  science,  but  has  sug- 
gested other  bequests  and  donations  to  the  Academy,  through 
which  research  has  been  stimulated  and  aided. 

Besides  the  death  of  Professor  Bache,  other  important  changes 
had  taken  place  in  the  membership  of  the  Academy  between 
1863  and  1867.  Of  the  fifty  incorporate rs  eight  had  died,  namely, 
Hubbard,  Totten,  Hitchcock,  Benj.  Silliman  (senior),  Gilliss, 
A.  A.  Gould,  Bache  and  Alexander.  Eleven  members  had 
resigned,  and  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  consti- 
tution, two  were  constituted  honorary  members  on  account  of 
age  or  remoteness  from  the  places  of  meeting. 

The  January  meeting  for  1867  was  held  as  usual  in  Washing- 
ton and  17  members  were  present.  Only  seven  papers  were  read 
at  this  meeting,  the  smallest  number  presented  at  any  meeting 
since  the  organization  of  the  Academy.  Resolutions  were 
again  passed  recommending  that  the  metric  system  of  weights 
and  measures  be  taught  in  the  public  schools  and  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning;  and,  in  addition,  registering  the  opinion  that 
it  was  highly  desirable  to  employ  metric  weights  in  the  post- 
offices  "  at  the  earliest  convenient  day." 

At  the  August  meeting  of  1867  a  resolution  signed  by  eight 
members  was  offered,  requesting  that  Congress  should  be  asked 
to  amend  the  act  incorporating  the  Academy  so  that  the  member- 
ship could  be  increased  beyond  fifty.  The  resolution  was  dis- 
cussed at  this  meeting  and  referred  to  the  Council.  At  the  next 
session,  on  recommendation  of  the  Council,  it  was  rejected.  The 
matter  did  not  rest  here,  however,  for  at  the  meeting  of  April, 
1870,  it  was  brought  forward  again,  and  this  time  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  Academy. 

"Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  317. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  35 

At  the  summer  session  the  Committee  on  Weights  and 
Measures  was  authorized  and  directed  "  to  communicate  with 
individuals  and  corporations  representing  the  various  trades 
throughout  the  country  tendering  advice  and  assistance  in  any 
efforts  they  may  be  disposed  to  make  in  regard  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  metric  weights  and  measures." 

The  summer  session  this  year  was  held  in  New  Haven,  17 
members  being  in  attendance.  A  singular  feature  of  the  scien- 
tific program  was  that  of  the  29  papers  read,  10  were  by  Professor 
Agassiz  and  related  chiefly  to  fishes.  The  remaining  papers, 
with  two  exceptions  related  to  the  physical  sciences. 

A  third  number  of  the  Annual  of  the  Academy  was  published 
in  1867,  after  which  it  was  discontinued. 

1868-1872 

Professor  Henry  continued  during  1867  to  preside  over  the 
meetings  of  the  Academy  in  the  capacity  of  Vice-President,  but 
in  January,  1868,  he  was  elected  President,  and  held  that  posi- 
tion for  1 1  years.  At  the  same  time,  Wm.  Chauvenet  was  elected 
Vice-President.  The  resolution  to  increase  the  membership 
was  brought  up  again  at  this  time,  but  was  rejected.  The  feel- 
ing appears  to  have  prevailed,  however,  that  a  larger  attendance 
was  desirable,  and  action  was  taken  authorizing  the  President 
to  invite  as  many  persons  not  belonging  to  the  Academy  as  he 
might  think  proper,  while  each  member  was  privileged  to  invite 
a  number  not  to  exceed  five.  The  time  of  the  first  session  was 
by  resolution  changed  from  January  to  the  second  week  in  April, 
while  that  of  the  second  session  was  changed  from  summer  to 
fall,  usually  October  or  November.  This  new  arrangement  of 
meetings  was  put  into  effect  in  1869  and  has  continued  in  force 
to  the  present. 

Not  content  with  passing  resolutions  regarding  the  use  of 
the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures,  the  Academy  in 
1868  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  the  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral and  urge  their  adoption  in  the  post-offices.  It  appears  from 
the  records  that  the  communication  of  the  committee  was 


36  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

listened  to  with  attention,  but  no  action  was  taken  by  the  Govern- 
ment at  that  time. 

The  Committee  on  Weights  and  Measures  was  also  requested 
to  consider  certain  changes  in  the  coinage  that  had  been  pro- 
posed, and  was  authorized  to  communicate  its  views  to  Con- 
gress. 

A  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Academy  in  1868  in  con- 
nection with  the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  which  was  to  occur  the 
following  year  and  would  be  visible  in  the  United  States.  The 
observations  on  this  important  eclipse,  during  which  the  presence 
of  the  new  element,  coronium,  was  discovered  in  the  sun's  corona, 
led  to  the  presentation  of  four  papers  relating  thereto  at  the 
following  session  of  the  Academy,  held  at  Northampton  from 
August  31  to  September  3,  1869. 

In  the  year  1868  the  number  of  asteroids  discovered  by  astron- 
omers had  reached  101,  and  the  Academy  appointed  a  committee 
to  give  names  to  those  bearing  the  numbers  100  and  101.  The 
name  Hecate  was  chosen  for  the  former,  and  Helena  for  the 
latter. 

The  Academy  lost  another  of  its  original  members  in  1869, 
Theodore  Strong,  and  two  others,  Frazer  and  Caswell,  resigned 
and  were  placed  on  the  list  of  honorary  members.  As  showing 
its  continued  interest  in  astronomical  investigation,  the  Acactemy 
this  year  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  the  completion  and 
publication  of  Gilliss'  observations  of  zones  of  stars  around  the 
South  Pole.  A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  determine 
whether  the  magnetic  observations  made  by  Harkness  while  on 
board  the  monitor  Monadnock  were  suitable  for  publication. 

The  latter  observations  were  made  by  Professor  William 
Harkness  under  an  order  of  Rear-Admiral  John  Rodgers, 
U.  S.  N.,  during  a  cruise  of  the  Monadnock  from  Philadelphia 
to  San  Francisco,  by  way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  beginning 
in  October,  1865.  This  detail  was  made  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment upon  the  recommendation  of  so-called  "  Compass  Com- 
mittee "  of  the  Academy,  which  was  concerned  with  questions 
of  magnetic  deviations  in  iron  vessels.  "  The  investigation  was 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  37 

undertaken  because  the  vessel  was  heavily  armored  and  the 
voyage  extended  far  into  both  hemispheres,  thus  affording  a 
favorable  opportunity  of  submitting  Poisson's  theory  of  the 
deviations  of  compasses  on  iron  ships  to  the  test  of  rigorous 
observations,  which  had  never  been  done  before."  The  obser- 
vations were  published  in  the  Smithsonian  Contributions  to 
Knowledge,™  with  the  following  prefatory  note  by  Joseph 
Henry: 

"  This  paper  was  originally  an  official  report  presented  to  the  Navy  Department 
by  Professor  Harkness;  but,  as  that  department  made  no  use  of  it,  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  in  August,  1867,  passed  a  resolution  asking  for  the  manu- 
script. This  request  was  complied  with;  and,  an  abstract  of  the  paper  having 
been  read  to  the  Academy  in  April,  1869,  it  was  referred  to  a  commission 
consisting  of  the  President  of  the  Academy,  Professors  J.  H.  C.  Coffin,  and 
F.  Rogers,  in  accordance  with  whose  recommendation  it  is  now  published  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution."  14 

About  40  papers  were  read  at  the  two  sessions  of  1869  and 
an  equal  number  the  preceding  year.  They  covered  a  very  wide 
range  of  topics,  but  the  majority  related  to  the  physical  sciences. 

Although  in  1868  the  Academy  rejected  the  proposition  to 
have  the  restriction  on  the  number  of  members  removed,  the 
subject  was  revived  in  1870  and  met  with  favorable  considera- 
tion. A  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  providing  that 
"  a  memorial  be  addressed  by  the  President  of  the  Academy  to 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  asking  for  the  amendment  of 
its  charter  in  such  manner  as  to  remove  the  restrictions  to  the 
number  of  its  members."  The  matter  was  presented  to  Congress 
on  May  4,  1870,  by  Senator  Henry  Wilson,  and  the  amend- 
ment asked  for  was  granted  in  an  act  approved  on  July  15, 

13  Vol.  18,  1873.     The  paper  was  accepted  for  publication  on  September  18,  1871.     The 
signatures   are  dated  from  December,   1871,  to  January,   1873. 

14  The  resolution  asking  for  the  manuscript  will  be  found  in  the  Report  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  for  1867,  page  9  (4oth  Congress,  2d  Session.    Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  106). 
The  preface  above  quoted  is  not  in  accord  with  the  Proceedings,  which,  on  page  73,  state 
that  the  committee  was  appointed  in  April,  1869,  also   (page  75)   that  Professor  Harkness 
read  a  paper  on  magnetic  deviations  in  iron  ships,  in  April,  1870,  and  not  in  April,  1869. 
In    both   the   Proceedings    and   the   Report,   the   vessel    is    incorrectly   referred   to    as   the 
Miantonomah. 


38  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

iSyo.15  The  amendment  was  accepted  by  the  Academy  on  the 
following  year  and  in  1872,  upon  the  adoption  of  an  amended 
constitution,  25  new  members  were  elected,  having  been  selected 
from  a  list  of  29  names  submitted  by  the  Class  of  Mathematics 
and  Physics,  and  18  names  submitted  by  the  Class  of  Natural 
History.  A  resolution  was  adopted,  however,  that  after  1872 
only  five  members  should  be  elected  at  any  one  session  of  the 
Academy. 

The  year  1870  was  further  marked  by  the  important  cir- 
cumstance, already  mentioned  above,  that  the  Bache  Fund  be- 
came available.  The  first  allotment  from  the  income  which 
it  afforded  was  made  in  the  following  year,  in  connection  with 
the  magnetic  survey  of  the  United  States. 

A  committee  was  appointed  this  year  to  consider  measures 
to  secure  the  successful  observation  of  the  short  transit  of  Venus 
of  1874.  The  Academy  also  expressed,  in  a  resolution,  its 
gratification  at  the  appointment  by  the  Government  of  the 
Argentine  Republic  of  Dr.  B.  A.  Gould,  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  Academy,  as  the  director  of  the  new  national 
astronomical  observatory  at  Cordoba. 

The  second  Vice-President  of  the  Academy,  William  Chau- 
venet,  died  in  December,  1870,  and  the  office  remained  vacant 
until  1872,  when  Wolcott  Gibbs  was  elected  to  succeed  him. 

A  committee  to  revise  the  constitution  and  the  by-laws  of  the 
Academy  in  accordance  with  the  act  of  Congress,  approved 
July  14,  1870,  amending  the  original  act  of  incorporation,  re- 
ported in  1871.  This  report  was  referred  to  the  Council  which 
in  1872  brought  it  again  before  the  Academy.  The  constitution 
and  rules,  as  amended,  were  unanimously  adopted  on  April 

"July  u,  1870.  "On  motion  of  Mr.  Wilson,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the 
Whole,  proceeded  to  consider  the  bill  (S.  No.  881)  to  amend  the  act  to  incorporate  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences.  It  directs  that  the  act  to  incorporate  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  approved  March  3,  1863,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  so  amended  as  to  remove 
the  limitation  of  the  number  of  ordinary  members  of  the  Academy  as  provided  in  the  act. 

"  The  bill  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment,  ordered  to  be  engrossed  for  a 
third  reading,  read  the  third  time,  and  passed."  (Congressional  Globe,  4ist  Congress, 
2d  Session,  part  6,  p.  5437.) 

The  bill  passed  the  House  without  objection  on  July  14,  1870,  and  was  approved 
July  15,  1870. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  39 

17  of  that  year.  While  many  of  the  changes  introduced  modified 
the  organization  of  the  Academy,  they  did  not  affect  its  char- 
acter or  scope.  The  whole  system  of  classes  and  sections  was 
abolished,  members  were  no  longer  required  to  take  an  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Government,  and  the  provisions  for  impeach- 
ing and  expelling  members  were  omitted.  The  limitation  in 
the  number  of  members  was  removed,  in  accordance  with  the 
amended  act  of  incorporation,  and  various  changes  were  made 
in  the  manner  of  electing  members.  The  time  of  meeting  in 
Washington  was  changed  from  the  third  day  of  January  to  the 
third  Tuesday  in  April.  Persons  not  members  were  permitted  to 
read  papers  upon  invitation  of  the  Academy.  A  clause  was 
added  to  the  constitution  providing  that  "  bequests  and  trusts 
having  for  their  object  the  advancement  of  science  may  be 
accepted  and  administered  by  the  Academy." 

As  already  mentioned,  immediately  upon  the  adoption  of  the 
revised  constitution  in  April,  1872,  twenty- five  new  members 
were  elected.  In  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  Senate,  dated 
February  23,  1873,  Joseph  Henry,  President  of  the  Academy, 
remarked  on  this  action  as  follows: 

"  The  enlargement  of  the  Academy  has  already  had  a  most  beneficial  effect  in 
stimulating  the  zeal  of  the  younger  men  in  the  country  who  are  devoted  to  scien- 
tific pursuits.  A  large  number  of  the  most  valuable  papers  were  contributed  by 
the  younger  members  at  the  recent  session  in  Cambridge  [November,  1872],  and 
it  is  evident  that  the  usefulness  of  the  Academy  is  largely  increased  by  being 
brought  into  closer  sympathy  with  all  the  cultivators  of  science  in  the  country."  18 

For  lack  of  communications,  or  for  some  other  reason,  no 
scientific  session  was  held  in  the  fall  of  1870  or  1871,  and  at  that 
of  April,  1872,  only  six  papers  were  presented,  one  of  them 
being  a  biographical  memoir.  It  appears  probable  that  the 
enlargement  of  the  membership  of  the  Academy  was  intended, 
in  part,  at  least,  to  offset  the  waning  interest  in  the  meetings,  and 
Professor  Henry's  gratification  at  the  strengthened  programs 
which  followed  this  action  can  be  well  understood. 

Through  the  solicitation  of  Captain  Chas.  F.  Hall,  who  had 
undertaken  two  voyages  into  the  Arctic  regions,  and  a  number  of 

18  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  100,  101. 


40  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

his  friends,  Congress  in  the  winter  of  1869-70  passed  an  act 
authorizing  the  organization  of  an  expedition  toward  the  North 
Pole,  which  was  later  known  as  Hall's  Third  Arctic  Expedition, 
or  the  voyage  of  the  Polaris,  from  the  name  of  the  vessel  com- 
missioned for  the  undertaking.  The  Act  of  Congress  was  as 
follows : 

"  SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States 
be  authorized  to  organize  and  send  out  one  or  more  expeditions  toward  the  North 
Pole,  and  to  appoint  such  person  or  persons  as  he  may  deem  most  fitted  to  the 
command  thereof;  to  detail  any  officer  of  the  public  service  to  take  part  in  the 
same,  and  to  use  any  public  vessel  that  may  be  suitable  for  the  purpose;  the 
scientific  operations  of  the  expedition  to  be  prescribed  in  accordance  with  the 
advice  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences;  and  that  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  or  such  part  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  be  hereby  appropriated,  out  of 
any  moneys  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  be  expended  under  the 
direction  of  the  President." 

Approved,  July  12,  1870." 

Captain  Hall  was  appointed  leader  of  the  expedition,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  Act  of  Congress  the  Secretary  issued 
instructions  to  him,  in  which  were  included  those  of  a  committee 
of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  The  instructions  were 
embodied  in  a  pamphlet,  which  was  published  under  the  title: 
"  Instructions  for  the  Expedition  toward  the  North  Pole  from 
Hon.  Geo.  M.  Robeson,  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  With  an 
appendix  from  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  1871." 

On  page  4  the  following  reference  is  made  to  the  Academy: 

"  You  [Chas.  F.  Hall]  will  render  Dr.  Bessels  and  his  assistants  all  such 
facilities  and  aids  as  may  be  in  your  power  to  carry  into  effect  the  said  further 
advice,  as  given  in  the  instructions  herewith  furnished  in  a  communication  from 
the  president  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  It  is,  however,  important 
that  objects  of  natural  history,  ethnology,  etc.,  etc.,  which  may  be  collected  by 
any  person  attached  to  the  expedition,  shall  be  delivered  to  the  chief  of  the 
scientific  department,  to  be  cared  for  by  him,  under  your  direction,  and  considered 
the  property  of  the  government;  and  every  person  be  strictly  prohibited  from 
keeping  any  such  object." 

The  instructions  and  appendix  are  also  contained  in  the  Re- 
port of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  1871,  pp.  238-260. 

17  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  16,  1871,  p.  251,  4ist  Congress,  2d  Session,  chap.  251,  sec.  9. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  41 

The  scientific  instructions  on  astronomy  were  prepared  by  Simon 
Newcomb,  and  J.  E.  Hilgard;  on  magnetism,  force  of  gravity, 
ocean  physics  and  meteorology,  by  J.  E.  Hilgard;  on  natural 
history,  by  S.  F.  Baird;  on  geology  by  F.  B.  Meek;  on  glaciers, 
by  Louis  Agassiz.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  June  9,  1871,  and  printed  in  the  pamphlet  mentioned 
above,  Professor  Henry  remarked: 

"  .  .  .  .  The  expedition,  except  in  its  relation  to  geographical  discovery,  is  not 
of  a  scientific  character,  and  to  connect  with  it  a  full  corps  of  scientific  observers, 
whose  duty  it  should  be  to  make  minute  investigations  relative  to  the  physics  of  the 
globe,  and  to  afford  them  such  facilities  with  regard  to  time  and  position  as  would 
be  necessary  to  the  full  success  of  the  object  of  their  organization,  would  mate- 
rially interfere  with  the  views  entertained  by  Captain  Hall,  and  the  purpose  for 
which  the  appropriation  was  evidently  intended  by  Congress. 

"  Although  the  special  objects  and  peculiar  organization  of  this  expedition  are 
not  primarily  of  a  scientific  character,  yet  many  phenomena  may  be  observed  and 
specimens  of  natural  history  be  incidentally  collected,  particularly  during  the  long 
winter  periods  in  which  the  vessel  must  necessarily  remain  stationary;  and 
therefore,  in  order  that  the  opportunity  of  obtaining  such  results  might  not  be  lost, 
a  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  was  appointed  to  prepare  a 
series  of  instructions  on  the  different  branches  of  physics  and  natural  history,  and 
to  render  assistance  in  procuring  the  scientific  outfit."  18 

This  expedition,  as  is  well  known,  ended  in  disaster.  Having 
reached  the  latitude  82°  11'  N.  on  August  29,  1871,  the  highest 
attained  by  any  explorer  up  to  that  time,  Hall  was  soon  after- 
ward taken  suddenly  ill  at  Thank  God  Harbor,  Greenland,  and 
died  there  on  November  8,  i87i.19 

18  Instructions  for  Expedition  toward  North  Pole  from  Hon.  Geo.  M.  Robeson.  Appendix, 
pp.  7,  8. 

"In  1871  six  members  of  the  Academy,  Messrs.  Meigs,  Peirce,  Hilgard,  Baird,  Henry  and 
Barnard  (F.  A.  P.),  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  William  M.  Stewart,  chairman  of  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining,  recommending  that  means  be  provided  for  testing 
the  economic  value  of  Western  coals.  The  letter  was  printed  as  Senate  Miscellaneous  Docu- 
ment no.  74,  4ist  Congress,  3d  Session.  In  1875  the  Academy  adopted  the  following 
resolution  on  the  subject:  "Resolved,  That  the  National  Academy  recommends  that  an  appro- 
priation be  made  by  Congress  for  completing  and  extending  to  all  known  American  coals 
the  series  of  experiments  now  to  be  made  by  the  Navy  Department  under  an  appropriation 
of  Congress,  and  published  in  the  report  of  W.  R.  Johnson  on  American  Coals."  (See 
Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  in.)  The  following  year  the  Academy  again  adopted  the 


42  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

1873-1877 

In  1872  the  Academy  lost  another  of  its  original  members, 
John  F.  Frazer,  and  in  1873  three  more, — Louis  Agassiz  (who 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Academy,  and  who  held  the  office  of  Foreign  Secretary  for 
eleven  years),  Joseph  Saxton  and  John  Torrey.  The  latter  year 
seems  to  have  been  otherwise  uneventful. 

Following  its  policy  of  promoting  astronomical  science,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  in  1873  "  to  take  into  consideration  the 
need  of  more  Accurate  Investigation,  and  Tables  of  the  Celestial 
Movements,  and  to  devise  such  measures  as  may  seem  best 
adapted  to  improve  the  Accuracy  of  Astronomical  Tables." 

Joseph  Henry  this  year  expressed  his  intention  of  resigning 
the  presidency,  which  he  had  held  for  six  years,  the  term  fixed 
by  the  constitution.  A  letter  "  numerously  signed  by  members 
of  the  Academy  "  was,  however,  presented  at  the  first  session  of 
1874,  and  Henry  thereupon  decided  to  withhold  his  resignation, 
and  continue  to  serve  as  President,  which  he  did  until  his  death 
in  1878. 

The  interest  felt  by  the  members  of  the  Academy  in  the 
metric  system  of  weights  and  measures  was  newly  manifested 
in  1875.  As  is  well-known,  an  international  conference  on  new 
metric  standards  was  held  in  Paris  in  1870,  but  its  deliberations 
were  interrupted  by  the  opening  of  the  Franco-Prussian  War. 
It  convened  again  in  1872  and  soon  afterward  the  proposition 
was  advanced  that  an  international  bureau  of  weights  and 
measures  be  established.  At  the  April  meeting  of  1875  the 
Academy  passed  resolutions  soliciting  the  President  of  the 

same  resolution,  on  motion  of  General  Meigs,  in  slightly  different  form,  thus:  "Resolved, 
That  the  President  and  Council  of  the  National  Academy  be  requested  to  prepare  and 
present  to  Congress  in  the  name  of  the  Academy  a  memorial  advising  that  the  course  of 
Experiments  upon  American  Coals,  made  under  direction  of  Congress  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment and  reported  in  Johnson's  Report  on  American  Coals,  be  resumed  and  continued  so  as 
to  include  all  the  coals  now  used  in  the  United  States  in  sufficient  quantities  to  be  of  value 
in  the  arts,  and  in  manufactures,  and  in  commerce."  (Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  115, 
116.) 

The  records  of  the  Academy  do  not  contain  any  information  as  to  the  reasons  which 
prompted  this  action,  or  the  results  which  followed  from  it. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  43 

United  States  "  to  ratify  the  assent  which  is  understood  to  have 
been  provisionally  given  by  his  diplomatic  representative  in 
Paris,  to  the  creation  of  such  a  bureau,  and  to  recommend  to 
Congress  to  make  the  necessary  provision  to  defray  such  portion 
of  the  expense  attending  its  maintenance  as  may  probably  fall 
to  our  share."  *°  The  International  Bureau  was  established  on 
May  20,  1875,  the  United  States  being  the  first  country  to  sign 
the  convention. 

At  this  time  plans  were  well  advanced  for  holding  a  great 
international  exposition  in  Philadelphia,  the  Centennial  Ex- 
hibition of  1876,  to  mark  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  It  had  been  pro- 
posed in  the  Academy  that  invitations  should  be  issued  to  promi- 
nent men  of  science  abroad  to  attend  the  exposition  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  report  upon  the  plan.  After  con- 
sideration, however,  the  committee  reported  unfavorably  and 
the  scheme  was  abandoned. 

The  Government  exhibits  at  this  exposition  were  extensive 
and  diversified,  and  were,  for  the  time,  extremely  well  installed. 
The  autumn  meeting  of  the  Academy  was  held  in  Philadelphia 
in  the  year  of  the  exposition  and  the  members  were  so  favor- 
ably impressed  by  the  display  made  by  the  several  departments 
and  bureaus  of  the  Government,  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
and  other  organizations,  that  they  were  induced  to  pass  resolu- 
tions urging  the  transfer  of  these  exhibits  in  their  entirety  for 
permanent  exhibition  in  Washington.  The  resolutions  were 
as  follows: 

October,  1876. 

"  Whereas,  The  members  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  have  been 
greatly  impressed  by  the  extent,  variety,  and  richness  of  the  truly  national  collec- 
tion contained  in  the  Government  Building  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  and 
considering  the  great  importance  and  the  lasting  interest  with  which  the  people 
of  the  United  States  regard  this  collection,  therefore : — 

"Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  the  Academy,  the  Government  Collection 
as  a  whole  should  be  transferred  to  Washington  and  there  preserved  in  an  appro- 
priate building  for  perpetual  exhibition. 

*Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  x,  p.  no. 


44  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Academy  entertain  the  hope  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  will  favor  the  foregoing  proposition,  that  he  will  delay  the  dis- 
persion of  the  exhibit  from  the  several  Executive  Departments  until  Congress 
has  assembled,  and  that  he  will  recommend  to  that  body  to  provide  for  the  transfer 
of  the  Government  Exhibit  to  the  City  of  Washington,  and  for  its  subsequent 
permanent  support."  21 

The  autumn  meeting  of  1872  was  held  in  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, that  of  1873  in  New  York  City,  and  those  of  1874, 
1875  and  1876  in  Philadelphia.  In  the  latter  year  the  Academy 
having  been  asked  by  the  British  Minister  to  suggest  names  of 
persons  considered  eligible  to  receive  the  Albert  Medal  of  the 
Society  of  Arts  for  "  distinguished  merit  in  promoting  arts, 
manufacture,  or  commerce,"  suggested  the  name  of  Joseph  Henry 
"  as  most  worthy  of  all  living  Americans  to  receive  that  recogni- 
tion." 22 

The  original  constitution  of  the  Academy  provided  for  four 
series  of  publications,  reports,  memoirs,  annals  and  proceedings. 
While  the  reports  and  annals  began  to  be  issued  soon  after  the 
organization  of  the  Academy,  the  memoirs  were  delayed  three 
years  from  lack  of  funds,  and  the  first  part  of  the  first  volume 
of  Proceedings  did  not  appear  until  1877.  This  part  comprised 
1 20  pages  and  contained  the  constitution  and  by-laws,  a  sum- 
mary of  the  important  business  operations  of  the  Academy, 
resolutions  relating  to  scientific  matters,  the  programs  of  the 
scientific  sessions,  reports  of  committees  and  other  miscellaneous 
information.  Though  more  or  less  fragmentary  and  incomplete, 
it  is  valuable  as  a  continuous  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Academy  during  the  first  14  years  of  its  existence.  A  second  part 
carried  the  record  to  1884,  and  a  third  to  1895.  No  further  parts 
have  been  issued. 

Another  publication  which  first  appeared  in  1877  was  the 
Biographical  Memoirs.  The  first  volume,  in  octavo  form,  con- 
tained memoirs  of  fifteen  deceased  members.  Some  of  these 
sketches  had  already  appeared  in  the  Annual,  and  the  series,  for 

aProc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  118. 
22  Loc.  cit.,  p.  114. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  45 

which  there  was  no  definite  provision  in  the  constitution,  may 
perhaps  be  considered  as  a  continuation  of  that  publication. 

Although  in  1875  the  diplomatic  representative  of  the  Govern- 
ment had  signed  the  convention  for  the  establishment  of  an  inter- 
national bureau  of  weights  and  measures,  that  action  required 
ratification  by  the  Senate  to  be  binding  on  the  United  States. 
On  recommendation  of  the  Committee  on  Weights,  Measures 
and  Coinage,  the  Academy  in  1877  addressed  a  memorial  to 
Congress  in  which  the  members  "  respectfully  urge  that  the 
Senate  ratify  said  convention,  and  that  Congress  make  the 
requisite  appropriation  to  carry  the  same  into  effect." 

The  treasurer  reported  in  October,  1876,  that  the  principal  of 
the  Bache  Fund  amounted  to  $43,300,  of  which  $42,300  was 
invested  in  United  States  certificates,  and  $1000  in  certificates 
of  the  city  of  Davenport,  Iowa.  In  addition,  the  Academy  had 
received  from  the  Bache  estate  160  acres  of  land  situated  in  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  a  house  and  lot  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
No.  723  Twentieth  Street,  S.  W.  In  connection  with  the  various 
allotments  made  from  the  fund  for  scientific  researches,  some 
pieces  of  apparatus  had  been  purchased,  and  in  1877  the  Academy 
directed  that  all  such  apparatus  when  no  longer  needed  for  the 
purposes  of  the  investigations  undertaken  should  be  turned  over 
to  the  Home  Secretary,  and  be  at  all  times  subject  to  the  disposal 
of  the  Academy. 

Jeffries  Wyman,  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Academy, 
died  in  1874,  and  another,  Joseph  Winlock,  in  1875.  In  1877 
two  others  died,  Alexis  Caswell  and  Rear-Admiral  Charles  H. 
Davis,  the  latter,  as  shown  by  this  history,  probably  the  first  to 
conceive  a  practical  plan  for  the  formation  of  the  Academy. 

In  1877  the  practice  was  established  of  having  important  in- 
ventions based  on  scientific  principles  exhibited  before  the 
Academy.  In  that  year  an  exhibition  was  made  in  the  chemical 
laboratory  of  Columbia  College,  of  the  Jablokoff  electric  candle, 
a  form  of  arc  light  which  caused  a  revival  of  interest  in  the 
problems  of  electric  lighting. 


46  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

1878-1882 

At  the  April  session  of  the  following  year,  Mr.  Thomas  A. 
Edison  exhibited  to  the  Academy  the  phonograph,  which  was 
invented  by  him  in  1877,  and  also  his  "  carbon  telephone."  The 
record  contains  the  following  statement  regarding  this  exhi- 
bition: 

April,  1878. 

"  During  the  session  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Edison  exhibited  to  the  Academy  his 
Phonograph  and  Carbon  Telephone,  communicating  with  the  latter  through 
one  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  wires  with  the  Central  Office  of  that  Com- 
pany in  Philadelphia,  and  members  of  the  Academy  holding  conversation  with 
Mr.  Henry  Bentley  of  that  city."  23 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year  1877  the  health  of  the  second 
President  of  the  Academy,  Joseph  Henry,  suffered  a  severe 
decline,  and  at  the  April  session  of  1878  an  address  was  read  in 
his  behalf,  in  which  he  called  attention  to  his  long  term  of  ser- 
vice, and  renewed  the  request  which  he  had  made  some  six 
years  previously,  that  he  be  allowed  to  resign  his  office.  In 
closing  his  address  he  remarked,  "  I  retain  the  office  six  months 
longer  in  the  hope  that  I  may  be  restored  to  such  a  condition  of 
health  as  to  be  able  to  prepare  some  suggestions,  which  may  be  of 
importance  for  the  future  of  the  Academy."  2* 

The  appreciation  of  Henry's  services  was  such  that  the  follow- 
ing resolution  was  adopted  unanimously: 

"  Resolved,  That  with  every  sentiment  of  sympathy  and  regard  for  Professor 
Henry,  the  Academy  most  respectfully  declines  to  entertain  any  proposition 
looking  to  his  retirement  from  the  office  of  President."  25 

His  infirmities,  however,  increased  with  such  rapidity  that  he 
was  obliged  to  hasten  his  valedictory  address,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  same  session  his  farewell  was  delivered  in  the  following 
words : 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  been  much  interested  in  the  proceedings  of  the  present 
meeting  of  the  National  Academy.  Although  I  have  been  unable  to  be  present, 

^Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  130. 

24  Loc.  clt.,  p.  132. 

25  Loc.  cit.,  p.  132. 


9 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  47 

except  during  a  small  part  of  the  session,  yet  I  have  been  made  acquainted  with 
everything  that  has  occurred. 

"  Whatever  might  have  been  thought  as  to  the  success  of  the  Academy,  when 
first  proposed  by  the  late  Prof.  Louis  Agassiz,  the  present  meeting  conclusively 
proves  that  it  has  become  a  power  of  great  efficiency  in  the  promotion  of  science 
in  this  country.  To  sustain  this  effect,  however,  much  caution  is  required  to 
maintain  the  purity  of  its  character  and  the  propriety  of  its  decisions. 

"  For  this  purpose  great  care  must  be  exercised  in  the  selection  of  its  members. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  for  a  moment  that  the  basis  of  selection  is  actual 
scientific  labor  in  the  way  of  original  research ;  that  is,  in  making  positive  additions 
to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge,  connected  with  unimpeachable  moral  character. 

"  It  is  not  social  position,  popularity,  extended  authorship,  or  success  as  an 
instructor  in  science,  which  entitles  to  membership,  but  actual  new  discoveries; 
nor  are  these  sufficient  if  the  reputation  of  the  candidate  is  in  the  slightest  degree 
tainted  with  injustice  or  want  of  truth.  Indeed,  I  think  that  immorality  and  great 
mental  power  actually  exercised  in  the  discovery  of  scientific  truths  are  incom- 
patible with  each  other,  and  that  more  error  is  introduced  from  defect  in  moral 
sense  than  from  want  of  intellectual  capacity. 

"  Please  accept  my  warmest  thanks  for  the  kind  expressions  of  sympathy  you 
have  extended  to  me  during  this  period  of  my  illness,  and  in  refusing  to  accept 
my  resignation  as  President  of  the  Academy.  I  shall  be  thankful  if  a  beneficent 
Providence  extends  my  life  during  another  year,  and  grants  me  the  privilege 
of  greeting  you  again  in  a  twelve-month  from  this  time  as  successful  laborers  in 
the  fields  of  science. 

"  I  can  truly  say  that  I  entertain  for  each  member  of  the  Academy  a  fraternal 
sympathy,  and  rejoice  at  every  step  he  makes  in  the  development  of  new  truths. 

"  With  my  best  wishes  for  your  safe  return  to  your  homes,  and  for  a  rich 
harvest  of  scientific  results  in  the  ensuing  year,  I  now  bid  you  an  affectionate 
farewell."  26 

He  died  on  May  13,  1878.  In  the  address  of  the  Acting  Presi- 
dent, Professor  O.  C.  Marsh,  at  the  April  session  of  1879  we 
find  the  following  words  relative  to  Henry's  services  to  the 
Academy: 

"  It  is  fitting  to  this  occasion,  that  I  should  allude,  at  least,  to  Professor  Henry's 
great  services  to  the  Academy  as  its  presiding  officer  during  the  last  ten  years. 

"  After  the  death  of  the  first  President  of  the  Academy,  Professor  Alexander 
Dallas  Bache,  in  1867,  Professor  Henry  was  elected  his  successor  at  the  next 
meeting,  in  January,  1868.  From  that  time  until  he  left  the  chair  at  the  last 
Annual  Meeting,  in  April,  1878,  it  had  been  his  constant  thought  to  advance  the 

^Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  132-133. 


40  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

best  interests  of  the  Academy.  How  zealously  he  guarded  its  good  name;  how 
impartially  and  wisely  he  guided  its  deliberations;  and  how  earnestly  he  strove 
to  maintain  for  it  a  high  standard  in  Science,  we  can  all  bear  ample  testimony."  27 

Shortly  before  his  death,  in  1878,  a  number  of  personal  friends 
established  a  fund  "  as  an  expression  of  the  donors'  respect  and 
esteem  for  Professor  Joseph  Henry's  personal  virtues,  their 
sense  of  his  life's  great  devotion  to  science  with  its  results  of  im- 
portant discoveries,  and  of  his  constant  labors  to  increase  and 
diffuse  knowledge  and  promote  the  welfare  of  mankind."  This 
fund,  which  amounted  to  $40,000,  was  deposited  with  a  trust 
company,  with  the  provision  that  the  income  derived  from  it 
should  be  paid  over  to  Professor  Henry  during  his  lifetime,  and 
afterward  to  his  wife  and  daughters;  and  that  after  the  death 
of  the  last  survivor  it  should  be  delivered  to  the  Academy  "  to 
be  thenceforward  forever  held  in  trust  under  the  name  and  title  of 
the  '  Joseph  Henry  Fund,'  the  principal  to  be  forever  held  intact, 
and  the  income  to  be  from  time  to  time  applied  by  the  said 
National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  its  sole  discretion  to  assist 
meritorious  investigators,  especially  in  the  direction  of  original 
research." 

On  June  30,  1878,  Congress  passed  an  act  requiring  the 
Academy  to  consider  the  methods  and  expenditures  of  the 
several  surveys  carried  on  under  Government  auspices,  and  to 
report  a  plan  for  conducting  them  to  the  best  advantage  as  re- 
gards cost  and  results,  and  for  the  publication  and  distribution 
of  reports,  maps,  etc.  The  views  of  the  Academy  on  this  sub- 
ject, which  was  one  of  much  importance,  will  be  considered  in 
the  chapter  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  Academy  as  the  scientific 
adviser  of  the  Government. 

After  the  death  of  Professor  Henry,  the  Vice-President, 
Professor  Marsh,  was  Acting  President  until  April,  1879,  when 
Professor  Wm.  B.  Rogers  was  elected  President.  The  term  of 
office  under  the  constitution  was  six  years,  but  Professor  Rogers 
died  in  May,  1882,  and  Professor  Marsh  again  became  Acting 
President  until  April,  1883,  when  Professor  Wolcott  Gibbs 

27  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  x,  p.  149. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  49 

was  elected  to  the  presidency.  Professor  Gibbs  was,  however, 
unable  to  serve  and  Professor  Marsh  was  thereupon  elected 
President. 

In  a  work  entitled  "  Investigation  of  the  Distance  of  the 
Sun,"28  published  in  1867,  Professor  Simon  Newcomb  called 
attention  to  the  desirability  of  further  experiments  in  relation 
to  the  velocity  of  light. 

At  the  spring  session  of  1878,  he  presented  a  communication 
explaining  the  methods  employed  by  the  French  physicists, 
Foucault  and  Fizeau,  for  measuring  the  velocity  of  light,  and 
pointing  out  the  discrepancies  in  the  results  obtained  by  them. 
He  outlined  a  modification  of  Foucault's  method  which  he  had 
worked  out  and  another  which  had  been  devised  by  Ensign 
Albert  A.  Michelson,  U.  S.  N.,  and  asked  the  Academy's  con- 
sideration of  the  question  whether  the  Government  should  not 
be  asked  to  provide  the  means  for  carrying  on  experiments  in 
accordance  with  the  improved  methods.  A  resolution  was 
passed  at  the  same  session,  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  to  consider  the  matter  and  report  to  the  President  and 
Council  who  should  have  power  to  act.  The  committee  reported 
favorably  on  the  project,  and  its  report  was  sent  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  Hon.  R.  W.  Thompson,  through  whose  interest  an 
appropriation  of  $5000  was  made  by  Congress,  to  be  expended 
under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary.  Professor  Newcomb  was 
appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  conduct  the  experi- 
ments, and  immediately  took  steps  to  procure  the  necessary  appa- 
ratus. The  experiments  proved  more  laborious  than  had  been 
expected  and  it  was  not  until  November  15,  1881,  that  Professor 
Newcomb  was  able  to  report  definite  results.  These  were  not  as 
satisfactory  as  had  been  hoped,  on  account  of  certain  defects  in 
the  apparatus  used,  which  were  not  detected  until  a  late  date. 
At  the  time  of  reporting  in  1881,  the  sum  of  $2,000  was  still 
needed  to  complete  the  experiments. 

The  defects  in  the  instruments  having  been  remedied  the 
experiments  were  taken  up  again  July  24,  1882,  and  continued 
until  September  5,  1882. 

28  Washington  Observations,  1865.    Appendix  2. 


50  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

On  account  of  the  discrepancy  between  the  results  obtained  by 
Professor  Michelson  in  1879  and  those  by  Professor  Newcomb 
in  his  first  series  of  observations,  the  former  undertook  the 
repetition  of  his  experiments  in  1882  by  means  of  a  grant  from 
the  Bache  Fund  of  the  National  Academy,  and  in  1883  some 
cognate  experiments  on  the  velocity  of  differently  colored  rays 
of  light  through  various  refracting  media.  The  results  of  Pro- 
fessor Newcomb's  experiments  and  the  subsequent  ones  of 
Professor  Michelson  were  published  under  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment in  i885.29 

By  an  act,  approved  March  3,  1879,  Congress  established  a 
National  Board  of  Health  to  consist  of  one  surgeon  of  the  Army, 
one  surgeon  of  the  Navy,  a  medical  officer  of  the  Marine  Hos- 
pital Service,  an  officer  of  the  Department  of  Justice,  and  seven 
physicians  from  civil  life.  By  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the 
Academy  was  requested  and  directed  to  cooperate  with  the 
board  and  to  report  to  Congress.  A  committee  of  nine  members 
was  appointed  the  same  year  and  assisted  the  board  in  the 
preparation  of  its  first  annual  report. 

Regarding  the  work  of  this  committee,  the  President  of  the 
Academy  reported  in  1880,  as  follows: 

"  A  communication  was  received  from  the  president  of  the  National  Board  of 
Health,  dated  April  14,  1880,  expressing  the  high  appreciation  of  the  Board,  of 
the  aid  and  co-operation  rendered  by  the  Committee  of  the  Academy  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  its  annual  report  in  accordance  with  the  constituting  act  approved 
March  3,  1879,  and  requesting,  in  view  of  the  importance  of  the  subjects  under  its 
charge,  that  the  Committee  be  continued  or  a  new  one  appointed. 

"  The  committee  of  the  Academy  to  co-operate  with  the  National  Board  of 
Health  was  accordingly  continued."  30 

In  view  of  this  appreciation  and  request  the  committee  was  re- 
appointed  annually  until  1883.  ^n  *886  tne  chairman  reported 
that  four  years  had  elapsed  since  the  Board  of  Health  had  re- 
quested assistance  and  the  committee  was,  therefore,  discharged. 

^Astronomical  Papers  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  American  Ephemeris  and  Nautical 
Almanac,  vol.  2,  parts  3-4.  Velocity  of  Light  in  Air  and  Refracting  Media.  4°.  Washing- 
ton: Bureau  of  Navigation,  Navy  Department,  1885. 

""Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  174. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  5 1 

In  1 88 1,  when  the  Academy  had  been  in  existence  for  eighteen 
years,  the  number  of  papers  which  had  been  read  at  the  scien- 
tific sessions  was  no  less  than  649.  Of  these  papers  only  five  had 
been  published  by  the  Academy,  and  the  President,  Professor 
Rogers,  felt  that  it  had  not  received  the  recognition  by  the 
scientific  world  which  it  would  have  received  if  the  papers  of 
each  year  had  been  issued  promptly  in  a  journal  or  some  other 
publication  of  the  Academy.  He,  therefore,  proposed  that  they 
should  be  brought  together  annually  and  transmitted  with  the 
report  to  Congress.  Though  the  appeal  for  the  support  of  the 
membership  in  this  plan  was  urgent  and  was  repeated  several 
times,  it  seems  not  to  have  been  generally  responded  to,  and  the 
reports  continued  as  before  to  be  made  up  of  only  an  outline  of 
the  proceedings.  It  can  be  readily  understood  that  in  an  organi- 
zation like  the  Academy,  whose  members  are  for  the  most  part 
connected  with  educational  or  governmental  institutions,  and  are 
engaged  in  extended  investigations  along  more  or  less  definite 
lines,  it  would  be  difficult  to  obtain  a  series  of  papers  each  year 
for  publication.  Many  communications  are  necessarily  of  a 
preliminary  or  extemporaneous  character,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  such  completed  papers  as  are  available  for  publication  by 
the  Academy  are  often  so  comprehensive,  and  require  so  large  an 
amount  of  illustration  that  they  are  unsuitable  for  an  annual 
report. 

At  the  spring  session  of  1880  the  Academy  took  notice  in  its 
Proceedings  of  two  astronomical  happenings  of  importance. 
Dr.  B.  A.  Gould,  a  member  of  the  Academy,  who  since  1870 
had  been  director  of  the  Argentine  National  Observatory  at 
Cordoba,  completed  his  "  Uranometria  Argentina  "  and  atlas 
of  the  southern  heavens,  and  upon  receipt  of  a  copy  of  that  work 
the  Academy  passed  this  resolution: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Academy  ....  desires  to  express  its  high  appreciation 
of  the  great  and  permanent  value  of  that  magnificent  work,  the  fruit  of  the  labors 
of  our  colleague  during  many  years  of  absence  from  his  country  and  home,  and 
which  reflects  the  highest  credit  on  the  wise  liberality  of  the  statesmen  who  have 


52  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

promoted  the  establishment  of  their  national  observatory  and  have  sustained  its 


progress."  31 


The  second  resolution  related  to  the  determination  of  longi- 
tudes telegraphically,  in  accordance  with  a  method  perfected 
by  Dr.  Gould  while  connected  with  the  United  States  Coast  Sur- 
vey. Having  listened  to  a  paper  by  Lieutenant-Commander 
F.  M.  Green  on  the  results  obtained  in  the  Hydrographic  Office 
of  the  Navy  Department  on  foreign  coasts  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
the  Academy,  in  a  resolution,  expressed  its  hope  that  the  work 
might  be  extended  to  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans,  which 
resolution  was  communicated  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Fairman  Rogers,  who  had  served  as  treasurer  of  the  Academy 
for  a  period  of  18  years,  beginning  with  its  organization,  re- 
signed in  April,  1881,  and  Mr.  J.  H.  C.  Coffin  was  elected  to 
succeed  him.82  In  this  year  and  the  two  years  following,  the 
Academy  was  much  occupied  with  matters  relating  to  trust 
funds.  The  director  of  the  Washburn  Observatory  at  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  James  C.  Watson,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  Academy,  died  on  November  23,  1880,  and  bequeathed 
the  residue  of  his  estate,  after  certain  bequests  to  relatives  and 
friends  had  been  satisfied,  to  the  Academy  for  establishing  a 
medal,  "  to  be  awarded,  with  a  further  gratuity  of  one  hundred 
dollars,  from  time  to  time  to  the  person  in  any  country  who  shall 
make  any  astronomical  discovery  or  produce  any  astronomical 
work  worthy  of  special  reward  and  contributing  to  our  science  "  ; 
and  also  "  for  preparing  and  publishing  tables  of  the  motion  of 
all  the  planets  which  have  been  discovered  by  me  [J.  C.  Watson] 
as  soon  as  it  may  be  practicable  to  do  so."  The  estate  was  found 
to  be  in  an  involved  condition,  and  it  was  not  until  July  5,  1882, 
that  the  claims  against  it  were  settled.  On  that  date  the  following 
decree  of  court  was  handed  down : 


81  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  175,  176. 

82  This  year   a  committee,   of  which   Professor   J.   E.   Hilgard   was   the    chairman,   was 
appointed  to  consider  and  report  on  means  for  obtaining  a  legal  value  for  the  degrees  of 
the  Baume  hydrometer.     The  committee  reported   progress  in   1882,   but   appears  to  have 
reached  no  practical  conclusion.     (See  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  199,  208.) 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  53 

"  That  all  the  rest,  residue  and  remainder  of  said  personal  estate,  consisting  of 
the  sum  of  five  thousand  and  fifty-seven  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  in  cash,  one 
hundred  and  seventy-four  shares  of  said  stock  of  the  Michigan  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Company,  and  the  undivided  two-thirds  of  said  miscellaneous  books, 
and  all  and  singular  the  said  books  and  scientific  papers  as  delivered  by  said 
executor  to  it,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  assigned  and  set  over  to  the  said 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  its  successors  and  assignees."  33 

Nine  years  later,  in  1891,  the  stock  of  the  insurance  company 
was  sold  for  the  sum  of  $10,720  and  the  whole  amount  of  the 
fund  was  then  $18,666.88.  The  first  grant  from  the  income  of 
the  fund  was  made  in  1883  for  search  for  an  intra-mercurial 
planet.  In  1886  the  Watson  Gold  Medal  was  awarded  for  the 
first  time  to  Dr.  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould  "  for  his  valuable 
labors  for  nearly  forty  years  in  promoting  the  progress  in  astro- 
nomical science,  and  especially  for  his  successful  establishment  of 
the  National  Observatory  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  as  mani- 
fested in  the  six  volumes  of  observations  recently  prepared  and 
published  by  him." 

This  medal  was  presented  at  the  spring  session  of  1887,  a 
special  evening  meeting  being  held  on  April  20  in  the  lecture- 
room  of  the  National  Museum  for  that  purpose.  The  President 
of  the  Academy,  Professor  Marsh,  in  a  presentation  address 
remarked  as  follows: 

"  Dr.  Gould's  great  works  are: 

"  i.  The  Uranometria  Argentina,  one  volume,  with  large  atlas.  This  work 
comprises  a  catalogue  and  map  of  all  the  stars  down  to  the  seventh  magnitude, 
from  the  south  pole  to  10  degrees  north  declination,  the  position  and  magnitude 
of  each  being  given.  It  is  not  a  mere  catalogue,  but  embodies  an  exhaustive  study 
of  the  distribution  of  stars  of  different  magnitudes  and  their  relations  to  the 
Milky  Way. 

"  2.  The  Argentine  General  Catalogue,  one  volume,  410,  contains  the  places 
of  nearly  33,000  (32,448)  stars,  determined  with  the  highest  accuracy  with  the 
meridian  circle.  Three  determinations  of  each  star  were  generally  made.  The 
catalogue  is  followed  by  a  list  of  the  stars  contained  in  some  of  the  most  noted 
clusters. 

"  3-  The  Cordoba  Zone  Catalogues,  seven  volumes,  give  the  places  of  73,160 
stars  down  to  the  tenth  magnitude. 


Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  227. 


54  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  Many  variable  stars  were  discovered  during  these  investigations,  and  two 
whose  proper  motion  is  about  6"  annually  are  equaled  by  only  one  other,  so  far 
as  is  known. 

"  Eleven  hundred  photographs  of  southern  star  clusters,  taken  during  the  years 
1872-1883,  have  been  preserved  and  are  now  undergoing  measurement. 

"  Five  volumes  of  meteorological  observations  have  been  published  from 
stations  established  in  all  parts  of  the  Argentine  territory,  giving  the  climate  rela- 
tions of  the  southern  half  of  the  continent  and  establishing  the  isothermal  lines. 

"  The  observatory  and  a  national  meteorological  office  were  left  in  full  organi- 
zation and  activity. 

"  This  vast  and  comprehensive  work  is  embraced  in  thirteen  quarto  volumes 
already  published,  and  six  are  now  prepared  for  publication,  making  nineteen 
in  all."  34 

At  the  Congress  of  Electricians  held  in  Paris  in  1881  a  resolu- 
tion was  adopted  requesting  the  French  Government  to  invite 
other  governments  to  an  international  congress  for  the  deter- 
mination of  electrical  units.  Various  governments,  including 
that  of  the  United  States,  accepted  the  invitation  and  appointed 
delegates.  The  American  delegates  were  Professor  John  Trow- 
bridge  and  Professor  H.  A.  Rowland,  both  of  whom  were  mem- 
bers of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  At  the  meeting  of 
November,  1881,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  by  the 
Academy: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  cordially  approves  of  the 
formation  of  an  international  commission  on  electrical  units,  as  suggested  by  the 
Paris  Electrical  Congress,  and  earnestly  hopes  that  the  necessary  appropriation 
may  be  made  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  enable  the  members  of 
this  Academy  already  appointed  on  this  commission,  through  the  Department  of 
State,  to  carry  out  the  needed  experimental  determinations  with  credit  to  the 


"  35 


country. 

This  resolution  was  favorably  considered  by  Congress  and  we 
find  in  the  Sundry  Civil  Act  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1883,  an  item  under  the  State  Department  providing  the  sum  of 
$3,000  for  "  the  payment  of  the  actual  and  necessary  expenses  of 
the  two  civilian  experts  as  delegates  of  the  United  States  to  an 

84  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  290. 
**  Loc.  cit.,  p.  199. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  55 

International  Commission  for  the  Establishment  of  Electrical 
Units."  36 

The  international  conference  opened  in  Paris  on  October  16, 
1882,  but  the  delegates  of  the  United  States  were  not  able  to 
attend  until  the  second  meeting  which  was  held  on  October  26, 
1 882." 

The  work  of  this  session  was  chiefly  preliminary.  The  dele- 
gates were  not  present  at  the  second  session,  which  was  held  in 
1884,  the  United  States  being  represented  by  Mr.  Vignaud,  sec- 
retary of  the  American  Legation,  who  presented  several  com- 
munications on  their  behalf.38  At  this  conference  the  "  legal," 
or  "  congress  "  ohm,  ampere,  and  volt  were  established. 

1883-1887 

Dr.  Henry  Draper,  an  astronomer  of  note,  and  a  member  of 
the  National  Academy,  died  on  November  20,  1882.  At  the 
spring  session  of  the  following  year  the  President  announced 
that  Mrs.  Mary  Anna  Palmer  Draper,  his  widow,  had  presented 
to  the  Academy  the  sum  of  $6000  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
a  gold  medal  to  be  called  the  "  Henry  Draper  Medal,"  and  to 
be  awarded  to  "  any  person  in  the  United  States  of  America  or 
elsewhere  who  shall  make  an  original  investigation  in  Astro- 
nomical Physics,  the  results  of  which  shall  be  made  known  to  the 
public,  such  results  being,  in  the  opinion  of  the  said  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  of  sufficient  importance  and  benefit  to 
science  to  merit  such  recognition." 

The  first  Henry  Draper  Medal  was  awarded  in  1885  to  Pro- 
fessor S.  P.  Langley.  In  making  this  award  the  committee 
remarked,  "  The  committee  bases  this  recommendation  upon  the 
numerous  investigations  of  a  high  order  of  merit  which  have 
been  made  by  Professor  Langley  within  the  past  few  years  in 
solar  physics,  and  especially  in  the  domain  of  radiant  energy." 

**  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  22,  1883,  p.  302,  47th  Congress,  ist  Session,  chap.  433. 

"  Ministere  des  Affaires  Etrangeres.  Conference  Internationale  pour  la  Determination  des 
Unite  Electriques.  16  Octobre,  26  Octobre,  1882.  Proces-verbaux.  Paris,  1882,  pp. 
8,  154. 

88  Idem,  2d  Session,  1884,  pp.  6,  13,  37,  67,  80. 


56  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

The  committee  cited  21  papers  published  between  1874  and 
1884,  and  gave  a  brief  summary  of  each,  remarking  in  con- 
clusion: "Professor  Langley  has  published  numerous  other 
papers  upon  subjects  connected  with  solar  or  astral  physics,  but 
it  is  believed  that  those  which  have  now  been  mentioned  will 
fully  justify  the  recommendation  of  the  committee." 

About  1883  the  Academy  began  the  practice  of  sending 
delegates  to  other  learned  societies  and  to  universities,  both  in 
America  and  in  Europe,  and  in  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  of 
April  of  that  year  we  read  that  on  recommendation  of  the 
Council  it  was  voted  "  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  acknowl- 
edge, with  thanks,  the  invitation  extended  to  the  Academy  by 
the  Royal  Society  of  Canada  to  send  delegates  to  the  meeting  to 
be  held  at  Ottawa,  May  22,  1883,  and  the  President  be  author- 
ized to  appoint  delegates  to  attend  the  said  meeting."  Dr.  T. 
Sterry  Hunt  was  appointed  delegate  on  this  occasion. 

In  1887,  Professor  C.  H.  F.  Peters,  of  Hamilton  College,  was 
appointed,  at  the  request  of  the  Academic  des  Sciences,  Paris, 
to  represent  the  Academy  at  an  international  conference  held  in 
Paris  on  April  16  of  that  year  to  consider  a  plan  for  making  a 
chart  of  the  heavens  by  photography.  At  this  important  con- 
gress, which  extended  from  April  16  to  25,  1887,  fifty-six 
astronomers,  representing  sixteen  different  nationalities,  were 
present.  The  objects  to  be  attained  and  the  methods  to  be  em- 
ployed were  set  forth  in  the  following  resolutions,  passed  at  the 
first  session  of  the  congress: 

"  i.  The  progress  made  in  astronomical  photography  demands  that  the  astron- 
omers of  our  time  undertake  in  common  the  description  of  the  heavens  by  astro- 
photographical  means. 

"  2.  This  work  is  to  be  done  at  stations  to  be  selected,  with  instruments  that, 
in  their  essential  points,  ought  to  be  identical. 

"  3.  The  aim  is  (a)  to  make  a  general  photographical  chart  of  the  heavens 
for  the  present  epoch,  and  to  obtain  the  data  which  shall  permit  fixing  the  posi- 
tions and  the  magnitudes  of  all  the  stars  down  to  a  certain  class  with  the  greatest 
possible  precision;  (b)  to  provide  the  best  means  for  utilizing,  for  the  present 
epoch  as  well  as  for  the  future,  the  data  furnished  by  the  photographical 


process."  89 


'Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1887,  p.  49. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  57 

Upon  the  recommendation  of  a  "  technical  committee,"  the 
congress  agreed  that  refracting  telescopes  should  be  used  in 
photographing  the  stars,  that  stars  from  the  first  to  the  fourteenth 
magnitude,  inclusive,  (probably  some  2,000,000  in  all),  should 
be  photographed,  and  that  the  telescopes  used  should  have  objec- 
tives with  an  aperture  of  0.33  meters  and  a  focal  distance  of 
3.43  meters.  The  congress  then  divided  into  two  sections  each 
of  which  submitted  a  series  of  resolutions  relative  to  the  conduct 
of  the  proposed  undertaking.  It  was  found  that  the  directors 
of  six  observatories  were  prepared  to  agree  at  once  to  participate 
in  the  work,  and  in  the  end  18  observatories  assumed  a  share  in 
it.  None  of  the  observatories  of  the  United  States,  however, 
joined  in  the  enterprise,  which  was  completed  in  1912.  It  was 
originally  estimated  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  make  60,000 
negatives,  but  the  number  was  afterwards  reduced  to  about 
20,000.  The  expense  involved  was  estimated  to  exceed 
$2, 000,000. 40 

The  next  invitation  accepted  was  from  the  University  of 
Bologna,  which  celebrated  its  Sooth  anniversary  in  June,  1888. 
Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell  was  appointed  to  represent  the  Academy  on 
this  occasion.  In  May,  1891,  the  Academy  again  sent  a  delegate 
to  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  which  held  its  tenth  meeting  in 
Montreal  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  that  month.  The  delegate 
appointed  was  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  Francis  A.  Walker.  The 
President,  Professor  Marsh,  was  selected  by  the  Academy  as 
its  representative  at  the  tercentenary  of  the  University  of 
Dublin,  held  in  July,  1892.  Two  years  later,  in  1894,  Dr.  I-  S. 
Billings  was  appointed  the  delegate  of  the  Academy  to  the  eighth 
International  Congress  of  Hygiene  and  Demography,  held  at 
Budapest  in  September  of  that  year. 

The  subject  of  trust  funds  again  became  prominent  in  1884. 
Professor  J.  Lawrence  Smith,  a  member  of  the  Academy,  and 
well  known  as  a  chemist,  and  student  and  collector  of  meteorites, 
died  in  October  of  the  preceding  year.  His  very  large  collec- 
tion of  meteoric  stones  was  acquired  by  Harvard  University  for 

40  See  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1887,  pp.  48-53. 


58  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

the  sum  of  $8000,  and  this  amount  his  widow  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  National  Academy  as  a  fund  "  to  promote  the 
study  of  meteoric  bodies."  As  indicated  by  the  discussion  of 
the  subject  in  an  earlier  year,  the-Academy  was  in  doubt  as  to  its 
power  under  the  Act  of  Incorporation  to  accept  and  administer 
trust  funds.  Although  a  clause  had  been  added  to  the  constitu- 
tion in  1872  to  the  effect  that  "bequests  and  trusts  having 
for  their  object  the  advancement  of  science  may  be  accepted  and 
administered  by  the  Academy,"  the  organic  act  still  contained 
no  distinct  provision  of  this  character.  A  committee  of  six  was 
appointed  in  1878  "  to  procure  from  Congress  an  addition  to  the 
Act  of  Incorporation  of  the  Academy,  which  will  enable  it  to 
accept  and  administer  trust  funds." 

No  progress  appears  to  have  been  made  in  this  matter,  how- 
ever, until  1884,  when,  as  the  result  of  a  special  effort,  the  neces- 
sary amendment  was  secured  in  the  following  form : 

"  An  act  to  authorize  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  to  receive  and  hold 
trust  funds  for  the  promotion  of  science,  and  for  other  purposes. 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences, 
incorporated  by  the  act  of  Congress  approved  March  third,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-three,  and  its  several  supplements,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  authorized 
and  empowered  to  receive  bequests  and  donations,  and  hold  the  same  in  trust,  to 
be  applied  by  the  said  Academy  in  aid  of  scientific  investigations  and  according 
to  the  will  of  the  donors. 

"  Approved,  June  20,  1884."  42 

The  deed  of  trust  transferring  Mrs.  Smith's  donation  to  the 
Academy  for  the  establishment  of  the  J.  Lawrence  Smith  Fund 
was  signed  on  May  6,  1884.  In  his  report  for  that  year  the 
President  remarked:  "  The  object  of  this  memorial  gift  was  to 

^Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  136. 

a  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  23,  1885,  chap.  107,  p.  50,  48th  Congress,  ist  Session. 

The  bill  was  introduced  in  the  House  by  Mr.  Cox  of  New  York,  on  May  9,  1884,  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  and  ordered  printed.  The  committee  reported  favorably 
on  May  20,  and  the  report  was  ordered  printed.  The  bill  was  brought  up  in  the  House 
by  Mr.  Singleton  on  June  7,  and  passed  without  discussion.  In  the  Senate  the  same  bill 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library  on  June  9.  It  was  brought  up  by  Senator 
Sherman  on  June  n  and  passed  without  discussion. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  59 

promote  the  study  of  meteoric  bodies,  a  branch  of  science  which 
Dr.  Smith  had  pursued  with  much  success,  and,  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  the  donor,  it  was  decided  that  a  gold  medal,  to 
be  given  as  a  reward  for  original  investigations,  would  be  most 
appropriate."  The  expense  for  preparing  the  die  for  this  medal 
which  was  to  be  called  the  "  Lawrence  Smith  Medal,"  was 
met  by  Mrs.  Smith.  It  was  designed  by  Chaplain  of  Paris,  and 
the  first  award  was  made  to  Professor  Hubert  A.  Newton  in 
1888,  as  will  be  noted  on  a  later  page. 

In  the  summer  of  1881  Prof.  S.  P.  Langley  spent  some  weeks 
on  the  summit  of  Mt.  Whitney  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  of  Cali- 
fornia, under  the  official  direction  of  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  of 
the  Army,  in  making  astrophysical  observations.43  He  was  so 
much  impressed  with  the  suitability  of  that  place  as  a  permanent 
station  for  scientific  observations,  that  on  his  return,  with  the 
assent  of  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the  Army,  he  laid  before  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences  a  proposition  to  have  the  moun- 
tain peak  set  apart  as  a  reservation  for  scientific  uses.  The  moun- 
tain was  described  by  Prof.  Langley  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
Acting  Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the  Army,  and  dated  June  14, 
1 882,  in  the  following  manner : 

"  Mt.  Whitney  is  a  barren  peak  in  the  Sierras  of  southern  California,  reputed 
to  be  the  highest  in  the  State.  It  is  a  mass  of  granite,  extremely  abrupt  on  the 
Eastern  slope,  which  overlooks  the  Inyo  desert,  and  is,  except  for  scientific  pur- 
poses, believed  to  be  valueless,  as  with  the  exception  of  the  unmarketable  pine 
trees  on  the  lower  slopes,  there  is  .no  vegetation,  and  no  gold  has  ever  been  found 
in  its  vicinity. 

"  This  very  barrenness,  as  the  indication  of  exceptional  dryness,  fits  it  as  a 
station  for  special  meteorological  investigations,  as  do  also  its  extremely  pre- 
cipitous character,  and  consequent  abrupt  rise  from  the  plain."  .... 

In  a  previous  letter  to  the  Chief  Signal  Officer,  dated  February 
13,  1882,  Prof.  Langley  remarked:  "  In  case  a  Signal  Service 
Station  be  erected  on  Mt.  Whitney,  I  would  respectfully  suggest 
to  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  that  it  should  contain  not  only  pro- 
vision for  the  regular  meteorological  observations,  but  also  for 
the  temporary  accommodation  of  other  scientific  observers  who 

**  See  Prof.  Papers  of  Signal  Service,  No.  15,  1884,  p.  9. 


60  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

may  be  desirous  of  obtaining  his  permission  to  enjoy  the  advan- 
tages of  a  site  unsurpassed,  in  my  opinion,  in  the  world,  among 
those  equally  accessible.  There  is  the  greatest  abundance  of  stone 
on  the  peak,  but  construction  will  be  slow,  owing  to  the  difficulty 
of  labor  at  that  altitude,  and  the  difficulty  of  supplies  until  the 
mule  trail  is  completed. 

"  With  the  contemplated  trail,  mules  could  go  in  one  day  from 
the  projected  railroad  in  Owen's  River  Valley  to  the  very  summit 
of  what  is  believed  to  be  the  highest  mountain  in  the  United 
States.  Though  the  mere  fact  that  it  is  probably  the  highest  point, 
may  attach  one  kind  of  interest  to  this  site,  it  is  not  merely  on  that 
account  that  I  have  already  spoken  so  strongly  in  its  favor.  The 
dryness  of  the  air,  the  altogether  exceptional  purity  of  the  sky, 
the  altitude,  the  remarkable  differences  of  level  of  adjacent  points 
(Mt.  Whitney  is  11,000  feet  above  a  station  in  sight,  and  but  15 
miles  away)  together  with  its  accessibility,  make  this  in  my 
opinion  a  site  especially  deserving  of  occupation." 

The  matter  was  laid  before  the  Academy  in  April,  1882,  when 
the  following  resolution  was  adopted: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Academy  suggest  to  the  Honorable  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  that  a  reservation  be  set  apart  for  scientific  purposes  in  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
California,  of  not  less  than  ten  miles  square,  and  to  include  the  summit  called, 
by  the  State  Geological  Survey,  Mount  Whitney,  and  another  peak  lying  south- 
ward, which  has  sometimes  been  confounded  with  Mount  Whitney,  and  which 
is  locally  known  as  "  Sheep  Mountain."  *4 

The  President  of  the  Academy  appointed  S.  P.  Langley,  W.  H. 
Brewer  and  J.  W.  Powell  as  a  committee  to  have  charge  of  the 
matter. 

As  the  reservation  was  to  be  a  military  one,  a  letter  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  on  July  28,  1883,  by 
Secretary  of  War,  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  in  which  he  remarked :  "  I 
beg  that  you  will  please  advise  this  Department  whether  there 
exists  any  objection  to  the  setting  apart  for  military  purposes  of 
the  land  in  question,  and  that  if  no  objection  thereto  exists  the 
land  be  temporarily  withheld  from  sale  or  entry  until  the  orders 
of  the  President  declaring  and  setting  it  apart  as  a  military  reser- 

44  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  207. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  6 1 

vation  can  be  obtained."  No  objection  appears  to  have  been 
made,  and  on  October  4,  1883,  the  Acting  Chief  Signal  Officer 
of  the  Army  announced  to  the  committee  of  the  Academy  that 
President  Garfield  had,  on  September  20,  1883,  proclaimed  Mt. 
Whitney  to  be  a  military  reservation.  The  fact  was  announced 
to  the  Academy  in  April,  1884,  as  appears  from  the  report  for  that 
year,  in  which  the  following  statement  is  made : 

"  It  was  reported  that  the  reservation  of  public  lands  on  and 
near  Mount  Whitney,  California,  for  scientific  purposes,  had 
been  established,  and  the  committee  was  continued,  with  the  view 
to  securing  and  utilizing  the  reservation  for  the  said  scientific 
purposes."  45 

It  was  not  until  fourteen  years  later  that  definite  steps  were 
taken  for  the  utilization  of  the  mountain  summit.  In  the  Smith- 
sonian Report  for  1909  we  find  the  following  account  of  the 
circumstances  under  which  it  was  brought  about: 

"  Mount  Whitney  Expeditions. 

"  In  August,  1908,  with  Director  Campbell,  of  the  Lick  Observatory,  Mr. 
Abbot  spent  about  twenty-four  hours  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Whitney 
(14,502  feet).  This  mountain,  which  was  the  objective  point  of  the  famous 
expedition  of  Mr.  Langley  in  1881,  was  recommended  by  him  to  be  reserved  by 
the  Government  and  used  as  the  site  for  an  observatory.  The  reservation  was 
in  fact,  made,  but  no  observatory  has  been  established  there.  Mr.  Abbot  carried 
with  him  to  Mount  Whitney  a  pyrheliometer  and  wet  and  dry  thermometers, 
and  made  observations  on  the  summit  both  in  the  afternoon  and  morning  hours. 
Both  he  and  Mr.  Campbell  were  favorably  impressed  with  the  advantages  of  the 
place  for  observing,  and  with  the  relative  convenience  of  ascending  the  mountain, 
considering  its  great  altitude.  Fine  building  stone,  sand,  and  water  were  found 
at  the  summit.  Messrs.  Campbell  and  Abbot,  therefore,  recommended  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  that  a  grant  from  the  Hodgkins  fund 
should  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Whitney  a 
stone  and  steel  house  to  shelter  observers  who  might  apply  to  the  Institution  for 
the  use  of  the  house  to  promote  investigations  in  any  branch  of  science.  This 
recommendation  was  approved,  and  the  house  is  now  in  course  of  construction 
(July,  1909)."  « 

In  the  years  1882  and  1883  tne  Academy  lost  four  of  its 
original  members,  besides  the  President,  Professor  Wm.  B. 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1884,  p.  u. 
"  Smithsonian  Report  for  1909,  pp.  65,  66. 


62  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Rogers.  These  were  Professor  Stephen  Alexander  (died  June 
25,  1883),  Major-General  J.  G.  Barnard,  U.  S.  A.  (died  May  14, 
1882),  Dr.  John  L.  LeConte,  entomologist  (died  November  15, 
1883),  and  Admiral  John  Rodgers,  Superintendent  of  the  U.  S. 
Naval  Observatory  (died  May  5,  1882).  Of  the  incorporators 
twenty  others  had  died  prior  to  1883,  and  thus  twenty  years  after 
its  organization  the  Academy  had  lost  one-half  of  its  original 
membership.47 

The  second  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy,  contain- 
ing four  papers,  was  transmitted  to  Congress  with  the  report  for 
1883,  and  was  published  in  1884.  With  the  report  for  1884  was 
transmitted  the  first  part  of  the  third  volume  of  the  Memoirs, 
containing  eight  papers.  The  second  part  of  this  volume  was 
printed  in  1886,  but  many  of  the  plates  belonging  to  it  were 
burned,  and  the  distribution  was  delayed.  It  was  not  issued  until 
July,  1887.  The  completed  volume  contains  seventeen  papers. 
Commenting  on  the  fact  that  the  first  part  of  the  third  volume 
of  Memoirs  had  been  ordered  printed  by  Congress,  the  President 
of  the  Academy  remarked  in  his  report  for  i 


"  I  congratulate  the  Academy  that  the  precedent  for  the  publication  by  the 
Government  of  both  the  annual  report  and  an  accompanying  volume  of  memoirs 
is  now  fairly  established,  and  it  alone  remains  for  the  members  of  the  Academy  to 
do  their  part  in  presenting  their  memoirs  ready  for  publication  each  year  in  time 
to  accompany  the  report  to  Congress."  48 

A  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  occurred  on  May  6,  1883,  and  was 
visible  in  the  South  Pacific  Ocean.  It  was  of  special  interest  to 

47  Two  of  the  fifty  incorporators  withdrew  from  membership  soon  after  the  Academy  was 
organized.  One  of  these  was  Rear-Admiral  John  A.  Dahlgren.  The  following  extracts 
from  his  published  diaries  relate  to  the  incident: 

"March  10  [1863]. — I  omitted  to  mention  that  Congress  had  incorporated  'a  National 
Academy  of  Science,'  with  fifty  Corporators,  of  which  I  was  one.  This  measure,  from  which 
should  proceed  a  great  institution,  is  due  solely  to  Mr.  Wilson,  Senator  from  Massa- 
chusetts  

"May  14  [1863]. — I  sent  my  resignation  as  a  member  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  to  Professor  Bache,  who  had  been  elected  President  of  the  Academy.  Next  day 
he  replied,  requesting  me  not  to  insist,  that  I  would  be  excused  from  the  service,  &c. 

"  But  on  the  i8th  May  I  wrote  to  him  adhering  to  my  determination."  (Memoir  of 
John  A.  Dahlgren,  by  Madeleine  V.  Dahlgren,  1882,  pp.  389,  394.) 

"Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  255. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  63 

astronomers  on  account  of  the  relatively  long  period  of  totality, 
which  afforded  an  unusual  opportunity  for  a  search  for  intra- 
mercurial  planets.  A  paper  on  this  eclipse  was  read  by  Pro- 
fessor C.  A.  Young  at  the  meeting  of  November,  1882,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  Charles  H.  Rockwell,  of  Tarrytown,  New 
York,49  and  the  matter  having  thus  been  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  Academy,  was  referred  to  the  Council  which  reported  the 
following  resolution: 

"  The  Council  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  appreciating  the  impor- 
tance of  astronomical  and  physical  observations  of  the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun, 
May  6,  1883,  the  long  duration  of  which  is  especially  favorable  for  observations 
for  the  search  of  intra-mercurial  planets  and  the  study  of  solar  physics,  approves 
the  project  of  an  expedition  to  some  suitably  situated  island  in  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  recommends  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  commend  it  to  persons 
interested  in  the  advancement  of  science,  and  to  the  Navy  Department  of  the 
United  States,  for  such  aid  and  facilities  for  the  purpose  as  can  be  best 
afforded."  B0 

This  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  Academy,  and  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Professor  C.  A.  Young  (chairman).  Pro- 
fessor J.  H.  C.  Coffin,  Dr.  Henry  Draper,  Professor  Asaph 
Hall,  Professor  J.  E.  Hilgard,  Professor  Simon  Newcomb,  and 
Professor  H.  A.  Newton,  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the 
matter.  Subsequently,  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Draper,  Professor 
S.  P.  Langley  was  appointed  in  his  place,  and  Professor  C.  S. 
Peirce  was  added  to  the  committee.  Mr.  C.  H.  Rockwell  was 
also  invited  to  join  the  committee  "  as  having  been  the  real 
originator  of  the  project."  An  endeavor  to  obtain  funds  for  the 
expedition  by  private  subscription  having  proved  unsuccessful, 
the  committee  determined  to  appeal  to  the  Government. 

Its  representations  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  were  very 
favorably  received,  the  naval  vessel  Hartford,  Captain  Car- 
penter commanding,  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  observing 
party,  and  all  necessary  arrangements  made  to  secure  the  success 
of  the  expedition. 

'"Mr.   Rockwell    had   presented    a   communication   on   the   subject   before   the   American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in  August  of  the  same  year. 
50  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  211. 


64  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

A  memorial  asking  for  an  appropriation  of  $5,000  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  the  observing  party  was  presented  to  Congress 
and  having  the  support  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  favor- 
ably considered.  The  Sundry  Civil  Act  for  the  fiscal  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1884,  contained  the  following  item: 

1  ....  To  enable  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  to  make  observations  of 
the  eclipse  of  the  sun  on  the  sixth  of  May  next,  at  an  island  in  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
five  thousand  dollars,  the  expenditures  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  Superintendent 
of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  under  the  rules  that  govern  that  work;  to  be 
immediately  available."  51 

As  the  act  was  not  approved  until  March  3,  1883,  however, 
the  money  was  not  available  in  time  to  serve  the  purposes  of  the 
expedition  and  the  sum  of  $3,500  was,  therefore,  advanced  by 
the  trustees  of  the  Bache  Fund.  At  the  same  time  a  grant  of 
$500  was  made  by  the  Academy  from  the  Watson  Fund  in  aid 
of  the  search  for  intra-mercurial  planets.  The  observing  party 
consisted  of  Professor  E.  S.  Holden  (chief),  Professor  Charles 
S.  Hastings,  Mr.  C.  H.  Rockwell,  Mr.  E.  D.  Preston,  Mr. 
Winslow  Upton  and  Ensign  S.  J.  Brown,  U.  S.  N.  Four  officers 
of  the  Hartford  also  joined  the  party  as  voluntary  observers, 
and  two  English  observers,  sent  out  by  the  Royal  Society,  were 
likewise  included. 

The  objective  point  of  the  expedition  was  Caroline  Island,  a 
small  island  in  the  South  Pacific,  which  had  been  suggested  by 
Mr.  Rockwell  as  most  suitable  for  an  observing  station.  The 
party  remained  on  the  island  from  April  21  to  May  9,  and 
returning  reached  San  Francisco  on  June  n.  The  expedition 
was  successful  as  a  whole,  though  the  search  for  an  intra-mer- 
curial planet,  which  was  undertaken  personally  by  Professor 
E.  S.  Holden,  the  leader  of  the  American  party,  gave  a  negative 
result. 

The  committee  and  observers  made  a  report  to  the  Academy 
at  the  meeting  of  November,  1883,  which  report  was  by  resolu- 

11  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  22,  1883,  p.  611,  47th  Congress,  2d  Session,  chap.  143.    Act  approved 
March  3,  1883. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  65 

tion  ordered  to  be  included  with  the  report  of  the  President 
for  that  year.  It  was  not  published  there,  however,  but  in  the 
Memoirs  of  the  Academy.52  A  resolution  was  also  adopted  by 
the  Academy  thanking  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  the  aid 
rendered  by  the  Navy  Department,  and  also  Captain  Carpenter 
and  the  other  officers  of  the  Hartford  for  "  the  energy  and 
personal  interest  with  which  they  co-operated  in  the  work." 

We  read  in  the  annual  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
for  1883  that  "the  Hartford,  before  she  became  the  flagship 
[of  the  Pacific  Station],  made  a  cruise  to  Caroline  Island,  carry- 
ing a  party  of  observers  of  the  solar  eclipse,  sent  by  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  "; 53  also  the  following: 

"Hartford:  Arrived  at  Callao  from  the  United  States  January  n,  1883. 
Proceeded  to  Caroline  Island  with  a  party  of  observers  of  solar  eclipse  in  May 
last.  Returned  to  Callao  via  Honolulu;  arrived  at  Callao  August  i8."54 

Through  the  death  of  Joseph  Henry  in  1878,  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  became  concerned  with  the  Tyndall  trust 
fund.  This  fund,  which  amounted  to  about  $13,0x30,  was  estab- 
lished by  John  Tyndall  from  the  proceeds  of  his  lectures  in 
America  in  1872  and  1873.  Having  been  invited  by  friends  to 
lecture  in  this  country,  he  decided  to  do  so,  with  the  idea  of 
bringing  pecuniary  aid  to  the  city  of  Chicago  which,  as  is  well 
known,  was  devastated  by  fire  in  the  fall  of  1871.  On  arriving  in 
America,  however,  he  found  that  the  city  had  already  received 
such  great  contributions  of  money  that  the  amount  he  could  com- 
mand would  be  insignificant  in  that  connection.  He  turned  his 
donation,  therefore,  in  the  direction  of  establishing  a  trust  fund 
to  enable  American  students  of  physics  to  study  at  the  German 
universities.  He  designated  Professor  Joseph  Henry,  Dr.  E.  L. 
Youmans,  and  General  Hector  Tyndale,  a  kinsman,  as  trustees 
of  the  fund,  with  the  proviso  that  vacancies  on  the  board  oc- 
curring through  death  or  otherwise  should  be  filled  by  the 

"Vol.  2,   1883,  pp.  1-146. 

MRep.  Seer.  Navy  for  1883,  vol.  i   (1883),  p.  20. 
54  Op.  at.,  p.  170. 


66  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  After  the  death 
of  Joseph  Henry,  the  President  in  1880  appointed  President 
Barnard  of  Columbia  College  as  his  successor.  In  spite  of  the 
conscientious  efforts  of  the  trustees  to  apply  the  income  of  the 
fund  to  the  purposes  intended  by  Professor  Tyndall,  certain 
practical  difficulties  defeated  their  efforts,55  and  in  the  course  of 
a  number  of  years  the  principal  and  accumulated  interest 
together  amounted  to  about  $32,000.  The  circumstances  were 
communicated  to  Professor  Tyndall  who  thereupon  modified 
his  donation  and  established  three  graduate  fellowships,  each 
with  a  fund  of  about  $11,000,  in  the  department  of  physics  in 
Harvard  College,  Columbia  College  and  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  for  the  stimulation  of  original  research,  and  the 
advancement  of  physical  science  in  the  United  States. 

1888-1892 

The  first  Lawrence  Smith  Medal  was  awarded  in  1888  to 
Professor  Hubert  A.  Newton,  Professor  of  Mathematics  at 
Yale  University,  "  in  recognition  of  his  eminent  services  in  the 
investigations  of  the  orbits  of  meteors."  The  presentation  was 
made  on  the  evening  of  April  18,  1888,  in  the  lecture- room  of 
the  National  Museum,  the  President  of  the  Academy,  Pro- 
fessor O.  C.  Marsh,  presiding.  The  first  and  last  paragraphs 
of  the  report  of  the  committee  on  the  award,  which  is  printed  in 
full  in  volume  one  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Academy.58  are 
as  follows: 

"  Professor  Newton's  study  of  the  subject  extends  over  a  long  series  of  years, 
and  has  led  to  results  of  very  great  popular  interest  as  well  as  scientific  impor- 
tance. Meteors  in  the  sense  in  which  the  word  is  now  used  have  from  the 
remotest  ages  attracted  the  attention  of  mankind.  Observations  of  greater  or 
less  value  have  long  been  accumulating.  Chemistry  had  shown  that  meteoric 
bodies  which  fall  upon  the  earth  contain  no  element  not  already  known  as  a  con- 
stituent of  the  crust  of  the  earth,  but  astronomy  had  not  yet  brought  the  wanderers 
of  the  heavens  into  a  system  and  shown  that  they  are  moving  in  definite  orbits  and 

MSee  Smithsonian  Report  for  1885,  part  i,  pp.  25,  26. 
MProc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  308. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  67 

are  not  distributed  by  chance  in  the  celestial  spaces.  Professor  Newton's  first 
paper  was  published  in  1860,  and  was  succeeded  by  a  number  of  others,  the  last 
having  been  read  to  the  National  Academy  in  April  of  the  present  year  [1888]. 
"  In  the  judgment  of  the  committee  these  researches  are  of  a  very  high  order 
of  merit  and  of  interest." 

The  meeting  of  the  evening  of  April  18,  1888,  was  made 
further  memorable  by  the  presentation  of  the  second  Henry 
Draper  Medal  to  Professor  Edward  C.  Pickering,  Director  of 
the  Harvard  Observatory  "  for  his  work  in  astronomical  pho- 
tometry and  photography."  The  report  of  the  committee  on  this 
award  is  also  printed  in  full  in  the  Proceedings?1  but  it  will  be 
of  interest  to  quote  a  few  paragraphs  from  it,  as  follows: 

"  The  Committee  on  the  Henry  Draper  Medal  begs  leave  herewith  to  report 
that  it  has  carefully  considered  the  investigations  which  have  been  made  in  astro- 
nomical physics  since  the  award  of  this  medal  in  1885,  and  that,  as  a  result  of 
such  consideration,  the  said  committee  desires  to  recommend  that  the  Academy 
award  this  medal  for  the  year  1887  to  our  fellow-member,  Prof.  Edward  C. 
Pickering,  the  Director  of  the  Harvard  College  Observatory,  for  his  recent  work 
in  astronomical  photometry  and  photography. 

"  Professor  Pickering  was  appointed  to  the  position  which  he  now  holds  in 
February,  1877.  An  examination  of  the  annual  reports  which  he  has  presented 
to  the  visiting  committee  of  the  observatory  will  show  the  great  amount  and  the 

great  variety  of  the  work  which  has  been  done  there  under  his  direction 

Most  of  it  is  in  the  department  of  astronomical  physics,  and  this  it  is  to  which 
the  committee  desires  to  direct  attention. 

"  The  work  in  astronomical  physics,  which  has  been  done  in  the  observatory  of 
Harvard  College  under  Professor  Pickering's  immediate  supervision,  seems 
readily  divisible  into  three  classes:  First,  stellar  photometry;  second,  stellar  pho- 
tography; and  third,  stellar  spectrum  photography 

"  In  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  Professor  Pickering  has  displayed  in  these 
researches  a  skill,  ingenuity,  and  vigor  which  entitle  him  to  an  honorable  place 
among  the  scientific  men  of  our  own  or  of  any  previous  age." 

The  committees  charged  with  the  consideration  of  awards  of 
the  Lawrence  Smith  and  Henry  Draper  medals  found  their 
action  hampered  by  a  clause  in  the  deeds  of  gift  of  the  funds  on 
which  the  medals  were  based,  requiring  that  awards  in  each  case 
should  be  for  investigations  made,  or  publications  completed 
"  since  the  time  of  the  last  preceding  award  and  presentation  of 

37  Op.  «/.,  p.  300. 


68  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

the  said  medal."  A  recommendation  was  therefore  adopted 
that  the  donors  of  these  medals  should  be  asked  to  cancel  the 
clause. 

The  second  award  of  the  Watson  Medal  was  also  made  in 
1888  to  Professor  Edward  Schonfeld,  director  of  the  observ- 
atory at  the  University  of  Bonn,  Germany,  "  for  his  services  in 
cataloguing  and  mapping  the  stars  visible  in  our  latitudes,  and 
especially  for  his  recently  published  Southern  Durchmusterung." 
"  As  Professor  Schonfeld  was  not  present  at  this  meeting,  the 
Foreign  Secretary  was  instructed  to  forward  the  medal  and  one 
hundred  dollars  in  gold  to  him  through  the  German  Embassy  at 
Washington."  B8 

A  committee  appointed  by  the  Academy  reported  in  1890" 
in  favor  of  the  re-adoption  of  the  plan  of  classifying  the  mem- 
bership.  The  constitution  of  the  Academy,  in  the  form  in  which 
it  was  originally  adopted  in  January,  1864,  provided  that  the 
membership  should  be  divided  into  two  classes,  namely,  (a) 
Mathematics  and  Physics,  and  (b)  Natural  History,  and  that 
the  members  should  arrange  themselves  in  sections,  according 
to  the  subjects  which  they  represented.  The  organization  was 
then,  as  follows : 

CLASS  A  CLASS  B 

MATHEMATICS  AND  PHYSICS  NATURAL  HISTORY 

Sections  Sections 

1.  Mathematics.  I.  Mineralogy  and  Geology. 

2.  Physics.  2.  Zoology. 

3.  Astronomy,  Geography,  and  Geodesy.     3.  Botany. 

4.  Mechanics.  4.  Anatomy  and  Physiology. 

5.  Chemistry.  5.  Ethnology. 

This  arrangement  continued  in  force  until  1872,  when  the 
whole  system  of  classes  was  abolished.  The  matter  came  up 

MProc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  323. 

""This  year  a  committee,  consisting  of  Professor  S.  P.  Langley  (chairman),  Professor 
T.  C.  Mendenhall,  and  Professor  E.  C.  Pickering,  was  appointed,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
chairman,  "  to  secure  such  uniformity  of  measures  in  physical  apparatus  as  will  promote 
interchangeability  of  their  parts."  The  committee  appears  not  to  have  reported.  (See 
Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1890,  p.  13.) 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  69 

again  for  consideration  in  1885,  when  it  was  proposed  to  divide 
the  membership  into  four  sections,  but  this  proposition  was  re- 
jected.60 Notwithstanding  this  decision,  the  subject  was  brought 
forward  anew  and,  as  already  mentioned,  was  referred  to  a 
committee  which,  in  1890,  reported  in  favor  of  the  re-adoption 
of  a  classification  of  the  membership,  on  the  ground  that  it 
would  bring  into  closer  relationships  members  pursuing  the 
same  branches  of  science,  would  afford  better  facilities  for 
the  discussion  of  special  technical  subjects,  and  would  provide 
a  number  of  groups  of  experts  to  whom  subjects  of  inquiry  could 
be  referred  by  the  Academy.  As  to  the  method  of  classification, 
the  committee  remarked  as  follows: 

"  As  regards  the  method  of  classification,  the  task  of  fixing  upon  this  is  far  more 
difficult  now  than  it  was  when  the  National  Academy  was  founded,  nearly  thirty 
years  ago.  In  fact,  it  appears  well  nigh  impossible  to  establish  one  so  that  it 
shall  be  both  strictly  scientific,  according  to  present  ideas,  and  at  the  same  time 
practical.  Your  committee  therefore  propose  a  classification  closely  similar  to 
that  originally  established,  and  believe  that,  however  liable  to  technical  criticism, 
it  is  essentially  such  as  is  least  likely  to  meet  with  difficulties  in  its  practical 
working."  61 

This  report  was  referred  to  the  Council,  and  the  subject 
continued  under  discussion  for  nine  years  longer  before  a  new 
decision  was  reached. 

In  April,  1892,  the  Academy  adopted  a  resolution  declaring 
that  a  reorganization  into  sections  was  desirable,62  and  in 
November  of  the  same  year  a  committee  on  amendments  to 
the  constitution  reported  in  favor  of  the  following  classification 
of  the  membership : 

1.  Mathematics,  including  Astronomy  and  Geodesy. 

2.  Physics. 

3.  Engineering,  including  Civil,  Mechanical,  Electrical,  Hydraulic,  etc. 

4.  Chemistry,  including  Applied  Chemistry. 

5.  Geology,  including  Mineralogy,  Paleontology,  etc.  ^ 

6.  Biology. 

7.  Anthropology,  including  Sociology,  Economic  Science,  etc. 

*  Proc  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  264. 
41  Loc.  cit.,  p.  338. 
K  Loc.  cit.,  p.  368. 


70  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

The  committee  remarks:  "  The  plan  of  dividing  the  member- 
ship into  classes  according  to  the  various  branches  of  science 
represented,  essentially  that  of  the  French  Academy,  is  appar- 
ently looked  upon  with  favor  by  many  members  as  offering  a 
means  of  securing  a  more  judicious  selection  and  a  fairer  distri- 
bution of  the  honors  of  membership  among  the  different  classes 
of  scientific  workers."  63 

This  report  was  referred  to  the  Council  and  was  printed  and 
distributed  to  the  members  of  the  Academy. 

In  1894  tne  Council  reported  in  favor  of  still  another  classifi- 
cation, as  follows: 

CLASS  A.  Mathematics  and  Astronomy. 
CLASS  B.  Physics  and  Engineering. 
CLASS  C.  Chemistry  and  Mineralogy. 
CLASS  D.  Geology  and  Paleontology. 
CLASS  E.  Biology. 
CLASS  F.  Miscellaneous. 

This  report  was  considered  in  a  committee  of  the  whole  and 
held  under  advisement  until  1899,  when  an  amendment  to  the 
constitution  was  adopted  providing  for  the  division  of  the 
Academy  into  six  standing  committees,  instead  of  classes.  The 
committees,  which  are  quite  similar  to  the  classes  proposed  in 
1894,  are  as  follows: 

1.  Mathematics  and  Astronomy. 

2.  Physics  and  Engineering. 

3.  Chemistry. 

4.  Geology  and  Paleontology. 

5.  Biology. 

6.  Anthropology. 

This  classification  was  amended  in  1911,  the  committees  on 
Biology  and  Anthropology  being  replaced  by  four  separate  com- 
mittees, as  follows:  (a)  Botany,  (b)  Zoology  and  Animal 
Morphology,  (c)  Physiology  and  Pathology,  and  (d)  Anthro- 
pology and  Psychology.64 

The  third  Henry  Draper  Medal  was  awarded  in  1890  to 
Professor  H.  A.  Rowland  for  his  researches  on  the  solar  spec- 

^Loc.  cit.,  pp.  373,  374. 

84  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1911,  p.  14. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  71 

trum,  and  was  presented  at  a  public  session  held  in  the  National 
Museum  on  the  evening  of  April  16.  The  President,  in  a 
presentation  address,  mentioned  the  following  memoirs  as  being 
those  for  which,  in  particular,  the  award  was  made:  A  mathe- 
matical paper  on  the  Theory  of  Concave  Diffraction  Gratings; 
a  memoir  upon  the  Practical  Construction  of  a  Screw  of  a  Linear 
Dividing- Engine;  a  Research  upon  the  Solar  Spectrum,  "in- 
cluding the  magnificent  charts  which  accompanied  it,  produced 
by  photography " ;  investigation  upon  the  Absolute  Wave- 
Lengths  of  the  Lines  in  the  Solar  Spectrum;  investigations  upon 
the  Spectra  of  the  Elements,  and  particularly  of  the  Spectra  of 
Iron  and  Carbon. 

In  November  of  the  same  year  the  third  Watson  Medal  was 
awarded  to  Dr.  Arthur  Auwers,  of  Berlin,  "  for  his  contribu- 
tions to  stellar  astronomy,  including  his  superintendency  of  the 
zone  observations  of  the  Astronomische  Gesellschaft,  his  re- 
searches on  variable  proper  motions,  and  his  re-discussion  of 
Bradley's  observations."  The  award  was  made  effective  in  April, 
1891,  when  the  medal  and  one  hundred  dollars  in  gold  were 
transmitted  to  Dr.  Auwers  through  the  German  Embassy  in 
Washington.  In  reporting  on  the  award,  the  committee  made 
special  reference  to  Dr.  Auwer's  investigations  of  the  proper 
motion  of  Sirius  and  Procyon,  his  determination  of  a  fundamental 
system  of  declinations  to  which  all  catalogues  of  stars  should  be 
reduced,  his  work  on  the  parallaxes  of  the  fixed  stars,  and  also  to 
his  new  reduction  of  Bradley's  epoch — making  observations, 
which  was  characterized  as  his  greatest  work. 

President  F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  of  Columbia  College,  one  of 
the  incorporate rs  of  the  Academy,  who  died  on  April  27,  1889, 
provided  in  his  will  for  a  gold  medal  which  should  be  awarded 
every  five  years  to  the  person  making  "  such  discovery  in  physi- 
cal or  astronomical  science,  or  such  novel  application  of  science 
to  purposes  beneficial  to  the  human  race,  as,  in  the  judgment  of 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
esteemed  most  worthy  of  such  honor."  This  medal,  which  was  to 
be  styled  "The  Barnard  Medal  for  Meritorious  Services  to 


72  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Science,"  was  to  be  awarded  by  the  trustees  of  Columbia  College 
upon  the  nomination  of  the  Academy.  At  the  meeting  of 
November,  1891,  the  Academy  voted  to  accept  the  obligation  to 
make  nominations  and  appointed  a  committee  to  take  charge  of 
the  matter.  The  first  nomination  was  made  at  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Academy  in  April,  1895,  at  which  time  the  committee 
reported,  in  part,  as  follows: 

"  Acting  upon  all  the  suggestions  received  from  members  of  the  Academy  and 
such  other  information  as  the  members  of  the  committee  could  secure,  and  acting 
in  strict  conformity  to  the  specific  conditions  of  the  bequest,  the  committee  here- 
with unanimously  presents  the  name  of  Lord  Rayleigh  for  the  first  award  of  the 
Barnard  medal  for  his  brilliant  discovery  of  argon,  which  illustrates  so  com- 
pletely the  value  of  exact  scientific  methods  in  the  investigation  of  the  physical 
properties  of  matter."  65 

The  Academy  was  again,  in  1892,  made  the  trustee  of  a  fund 
for  the  encouragement  of  chemical  research.  This  fund  was  one 
presented  to  Wolcott  Gibbs,  an  incorporator  of  the  Academy, 
by  his  friends,  upon  the  occasion  of  his  attaining  the  age  of 
seventy  years.  Professor  Gibbs  expressed  his  appreciation  of 
this  token  of  regard  and  his  desire  to  place  it  in  the  hands  of 
the  Academy  for  the  promotion  of  science,  in  an  affecting  letter 
from  which  the  following  sentences  are  extracted : 6C 

"  MY  DEAR  PROFESSORS  JACKSON  AND  LOEB  :  May  I  beg  you  to  present  to 
those  from  whom  I  received,  a  few  days  since,  so  signal  a  mark  of  friendship  and 
good-will  my  heartiest,  most  earnest,  and  most  grateful  acknowledgment?  The 
address  which  I  received  on  my  seventieth  birthday,  signed  by  more  than  one  hun- 
dred friends,  pupils,  and  assistants,  brings  back  my  youth  in  recalling  the  names  of 
those  who  now  join  to  offer  me  more  than  mere  good  wishes  to  cheer  my  advanc- 
ing age.  Their  active  friendship  has  taken  the  form  which  was  most  acceptable 
to  me — that  of  an  endowment  to  assist  research  in  my  own  branch  of  science ;  so 
that  I  can  feel  that  in  a  certain  sense  my  power  to  work  will  not  terminate  with 
my  life.  As  the  generosity  of  my  friends  permits  me  also  to  dispose  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  endowment  shall  be  administered,  I  submit  to  them,  through 
you,  the  plan  which  seems  to  me  best  adapted  to  carry  out  their  wishes — a  plan 
which  has  been  fully  tested  in  somewhat  similar  cases  and  found  to  work  well 
in  practice. 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1895,  pp.  29,  30. 

"The  letter  is  given  in  full  in  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  365,  366.     The  amount 
of  the  fund  was  $2,600.    Professor  Gibbs  was  subsequently  President  of  the  Academy. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  73 

"  I  therefore  propose  that  the  fund  raised  for  endowment  shall  be  given  to 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  to  hold  the  same  in  trust  and  to  invest  and 
reinvest  as  may  be  necessary  or  advisable.  The  income  or  interest  of  the  fund 
shall  be  administered  by  a  board  of  directors  consisting  of  three  persons,  of  whom 

at  least  two  shall  be  members  of  the  Academy 

"  Sincerely  yours, 

"  WOLCOTT  GIBBS. 
"NEWPORT,  March  i,  1892." 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  number  of  members  of  the 
Academy  was  originally  restricted  to  50,  and  that  in  1870,  by 
an  unanimous  vote,  Congress  was  petitioned  to  amend  the  charter 
and  remove  this  restriction.  Favorable  action  was  taken  by  Con- 
gress, and  the  limitation  was  removed  by  an  Act  approved  July 
14,  1870. 

In  1892  Professor  B.  A.  Gould  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Academy  informing  him  that  a  fund  which  would 
yield  an  annual  income  of  $1,500  could  be  procured  for  the 
Academy,  provided  the  membership  should  be  reduced  to  50,  or 
at  most  to  70,  the  idea  of  the  person  offering  to  present  the  fund 
being  that  the  income  should  be  used  to  defray  a  part  of  the 
expenses  of  members  attending  the  meetings  of  the  Academy. 
The  matter  was  referred  to  the  Council,  apparently  without 
discussion,  and  seems  never  to  have  been  further  acted  upon, 
but  at  the  November  meeting  of  the  same  year  the  committee  on 
amendments  to  the  constitution  reported :  "  There  is  divided 
opinion  upon  the  desirability  of  decrease  in  membership,  with  a 
preponderance  of  belief  on  the  whole  that  the  present  limit, 
which  is  practically  one  hundred,  is  about  right."  6T  While  no 
reduction  was  regularly  recommended,  the  committee  proposed 
a  plan  of  election  which  in  its  opinion,  would  "  satisfy  the  de- 
mands of  those  who  are  desirous  of  placing  greater  restrictions 
around  admission  to  membership  in  the  Academy,  as  well  as  those 
who  believe  that  the  limiting  number  of  members  cannot  be 
placed  below  one  hundred  without  doing  injustice  to  many  scien- 
tific men  who  by  reason  of  their  accomplishments  are  fairly 

67  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  373. 


74  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

entitled  to  the  honor  of  an  election."  68  This  plan  was  not 
adopted,  but  though  various  changes  in  the  method  of  electing 
members  were  introduced  subsequently,  the  number  of  members 
has  remained  about  one  hundred. 

The  Home  Secretary  reported  in  1890  that  the  fourth  volume 
of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  had  been  completed  "  after 
long  delays."  The  first  part  of  this  volume  was  printed  in  1889, 
but  only  177  copies  were  distributed  that  year  owing  to  a 
difficulty  in  obtaining  the  plates  for  the  whole  edition.  The  5th 
and  6th  volumes  were  printed  and  distributed  in  1892  and  i893-69 

The  delays  in  publication  during  these  years  caused  much 
dissatisfaction.  The  committee  on  amendments  to  the  consti- 
tution which  reported  in  November,  1892,  took  occasion  to  com- 
ment in  quite  emphatic  language  on  the  subject.  They  remarked 
with  much  truth: 

"  A  scientific  society  usually  is  esteemed,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  number  and  value  of  its  publications. 

"  Under  existing  conditions  few  members  of  the  Academy  use  it  as  a  medium 
for  reaching  the  public.  Life  is  too  short.  Yet  it  is  evident  that  it  cannot  rank 
with  similar  societies  in  other  countries  until  its  publications  represent  the  best 
work  of  its  members."  70 

The  suggestion  was  made  that  a  semi-annual  publication 
issued  soon  after  each  meeting  of  the  Academy,  and  containing 
at  least  abstracts  of  the  various  papers  presented,  might  serve 
to  make  the  work  of  the  Academy  known  to  the  scientific  world, 
but  this  idea  has  never  been  followed  out. 

1893-1897 

Awards  of  the  Draper  and  Watson  medals  were  again  made 
in  1893  and  1894,  d16  fourth  Draper  Medal  being  awarded  to 

68  Loc.  cit.,  p.  375. 

69 In  his  report  for  1894,  the  Home  Secretary  remarked,  "The  bill  providing  for  the 
printing  of  all  reports  and  memoirs  of  the  Academy  passed  the  House  last  year,  and  is  now 
(April  17,  1894)  in  the  hands  of  the  Senate."  (Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1894,  p.  7.) 

The  Act  of  Congress,  approved  January  12,  1895,  providing  for  the  public  printing  and 
binding  and  the  distribution  of  public  documents  contains  the  following  item:  "Of  the 
Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  two  thousand  five  hundred  copies:  five  hun- 
dred for  the  Senate,  one  thousand  for  the  House,  and  one  thousand  for  distribution  by  the 
Academy  of  Sciences."  (Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  28,  p.  616,  53d  Congress,  3d  Session,  chap.  23.) 

70  See  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  375,  377,  where  the  report  is  given  in  full. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  75 

Professor  H.  K.  Vogel  of  Potsdam,  Germany,  and  the  fourth 
Watson  Medal  to  Dr.  Seth  C.  Chandler  for  his  researches  on  the 
variation  of  latitude.  The  report  of  the  trustees  of  the  Watson 
Fund,  which  is  printed  in  full  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1895, 
contains  the  following  paragraphs  relative  to  the  award  to  Dr. 
Chandler: 

"  On  the  recommendation  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Watson  fund  the 
Academy  last  year  unanimously  awarded  the  Watson  medal  to  Seth  C.  Chandler, 
of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  for  his  investigations  relative  to  variable  stars,  for  his  dis- 
covery of  the  period  of  variation  of  terrestrial  latitudes,  and  for  his  researches  on 
the  laws  of  that  variation 

"  Although  not  mentioned  as  forming  any  part  of  the  grounds  for  the  award  of 
this  medal,  Dr.  Chandler's  important  labors  for  many  years  upon  cometary  orbits 
are  well  known  to  astronomers 

"  The  trustees  of  the  Watson  fund  feel  that  this  brilliant  series  of  investiga- 
tions is  preeminently  deserving  of  the  highest  recognition  which  can  be  given  by 
the  National  Academy,  and  have  therefore  not  hesitated  in  recommending  the 
award  of  the  medal  to  Dr.  Chandler."  71 

It  will  be  recalled  that  "  the  Barnard  Medal  for  Meritorious 
Services  to  Science "  was  established  by  President  F.  A.  P. 
Barnard  of  Columbia  College  (now  Columbia  University) 
July  17,  1889,  with  the  provision  that  it  should  be  awarded  every 
five  years  after  that  date,  by  the  trustees  of  Columbia  College, 
upon  the  recommendation  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 
The  first  award  was  made  in  1895  to  Lord  Rayleigh  "  for  his 
brilliant  discovery  of  argon,  which  illustrates  so  completely  the 
value  of  exact  scientific  methods  in  the  investigation  of  the 
physical  properties  of  matter."  72 

In  the  decade  between  1884  and  1894  tne  Academy  lost 
twelve  of  the  incorporators,  or  original  members,  President 
F.  A.  P.  Barnard  of  Columbia  College  (died  in  1889),  the  as- 
tronomer and  educator  who  was  the  second  Foreign  Secretary  of 
the  Academy  and  served  in  that  capacity  from  1874  to  1880; 
Bartlett,  the  physicist  (1893)  5  the  botanists,  Engelmann  (1884) 

71  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1895,  pp.  24-29. 

72  Loc.  cit.,  pp.  29,  30. 


76  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

and  Gray  (1888)  ;  Guyot,  the  geographer  (1884)  ;  Hilgard,  the 
mathematician  and  physicist  (1891)  ;  Leidy,  the  anatomist  and 
paleontologist  (1891);  Longstreth,  the  astronomer  (1891); 
Robert  E.  Rogers,  the  chemist  (1884)  ;  the  paleontologist,  New- 
berry  (1892);  Rutherfurd,  the  astronomer  (1892);  and  Ben- 
jamin Silliman,  junior,  the  chemist  (1885),  who  was  also  a 
member  of  the  committee  which  drafted  the  first  constitution. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1894,  onty  eight  of  the  48  original 
members  remained,73  J.  D.  Dana,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  B.  A.  Gould, 
James  Hall,  J.  P.  Lesley,  H.  A.  Newton,  Fairman  Rogers,  J.  D. 
Whitney. 

The  year  1895  was  notable  in  the  history  of  the  Academy  from 
the  fact  that  four  sessions  were  held, — a  special  session  at  New 
York,  on  February  9,  to  carry  out  the  Act  of  Congress  relative 
to  the  application  of  the  definitions  of  the  units  of  electrical 
measure;  the  regular  annual  meeting,  held  at  Washington  from 
April  16  to  19;  a  second  special  session,  held  in  Philadelphia, 
October  30;  and  a  scientific  session  held  in  Philadelphia, 
October  31.  The  proceedings  of  the  important  meeting  for  the 
application  of  electrical  units  are  given  in  full  in  the  report  for 
the  year,  and  will  be  mentioned  again  in  the  chapter  on  the 
work  of  the  Academy  as  the  adviser  of  the  Government. 

The  annual  report  for  the  year  1895  contains  an  interesting 
detailed  statement  by  the  Treasurer  regarding  the  trust  funds  of 
the  Academy,  all  of  which  showed  substantial  increases.  The 
Bache  Fund,  which  was  originally  $40,515,  had  increased  to 
$50,998;  the  Watson  Fund,  originally  about  $13,757,  had  in- 
creased to  $18,667,  together  with  invested  income  amounting  to 
$4,427;  the  Draper  Fund,  originally  $6,000,  was  raised  to  $6,604, 
together  with  invested  income  amounting  to  $1,300;  the  Law- 
rence Smith  Fund  of  $8,000,  increased  to  $8,235  with  invested 
income  of  $597.  The  Wolcott  Gibbs  Fund  remained  at  $2,673. 
In  all,  the  trust  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  Academy  amounted 
at  this  time  to  $94,000. 

Ti  It  will    be   recalled   that   two  of   the   incorporators,    Dahlgren    and   Boyden,    declined 
membership  in  the  Academy,  or  resigned  within  a  few  months. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  77 

The  fourth  President  of  the  Academy,  Professor  O.  C.  Marsh, 
who  had  held  that  office  since  1883,  declined  re-election  in  1895, 
and  the  Academy  passed  the  following  resolution  unanimously: 
"  That  the  thanks  of  the  Academy  be  tendered  to  the  retiring 
president  for  the  zeal  and  ability  with  which  he  has  admin- 
istered in  succession  the  offices  of  vice-president  and  president 
of  the  Academy  during  a  period  of  seventeen  years."  74  Pro- 
fessor Marsh  was  succeeded  by  Professor  Wolcott  Gibbs  who 
held  the  office  of  President  until  April,  1900,  when  he  resigned. 
He  was  succeeded  in  1901  by  Dr.  Alexander  Agassiz. 

In  this  same  year,  1895,  which  we  have  been  considering,  the 
Academy  expressed  its  gratification  at  the  completion,  under 
the  direction  of  two  of  its  members,  of  extensive  publications 
calculated  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  science  and  to  the  people. 
These  were  the  reports  on  the  geology  of  Pennsylvania  and  the 
catalogue  of  the  library  of  the  Surgeon-General's  Office.  The 
resolution  was  as  follows : 

"Whereas,  since  1874,  Prof.  J.  P.  Lesley,  as  the  director  of  the  second 
geological  survey  of  Pennsylvania,  has,  with  the  cooperation  of  a  band  of  assist- 
ants, published  127  octavo  volumes  of  reports,  which  will  remain  a  monument  of 
his  scientific  and  literary  activity: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  at  a  session  held  in  Phila- 
delphia on  the  3Oth  of  October,  1895,  while  expressing  their  regret  at  the  absence 
of  their  fellow-member,  J.  P.  Lesley,  wish  at  the  same  time  to  congratulate  him  on 
the  successful  completion  of  his  reports  on  the  geological  survey  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  further  to  express  their  appreciation  of  the  services  he  has  rendered  to  science 
in  devoting  his  life  to  the  interest  of  the  survey,  a  task  to  which  he  has  brought 
an  unsurpassed  knowledge  of  the  geology  of  the  State. 

"  2.  The  Academy  congratulate  their  fellow-member,  Dr.  John  S.  Billings,  on 
the  completion  of  his  Catalogue  of  the  Army  Medical  Library,  and  on  the  issue  of 
the  final^sixteenth  volume  of  this  unequaled  gift  to  the  medical  scholars  of  the 
world."  75 

In  1896,  when  a  bill  was  pending  in  the  Senate  calling  for  the 
restriction  of  experiments  on  the  lower  animals  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  (Senate  no.  1552),  a  letter  was  addressed  to  Sen- 
ator Jacob  H.  Gallinger  by  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1895,  P-  23. 
™  Loc.  dt.,  p.  31. 


78  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  the  Surgeon-Gen- 
eral of  the  Navy,  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army  and  the 
Surgeon-General  of  the  Marine-Hospital  Service,  in  which  it 
was  requested  that  the  Academy  be  asked  to  express  an  opinion 
on  the  probable  effect  of  such  restriction  on  the  progress  of 
biological  science. 

The  letter  was  forwarded  by  Senator  Gallinger  to  the 
Academy,  with  a  request  for  suggestions  or  a  report  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  Academy  took  the  rather  unusual  course  of  reporting 
directly  and  not  by  means  of  a  committee.  The  report  consisted 
of  a  letter  signed  by  Wolcott  Gibbs,  the  President  of  the  Acad- 
emy, in  which  it  was  asserted  that  experiments  in  animals 
have  resulted  in  "  incalculable  benefits  to  the  human  race."  It 
was  admitted  that  abuses  might  occasionally  arise,  but  the  fact 
was  pointed  out  that  no  claims  were  made  by  those  interested  in 
obtaining  restrictive  legislation  that  abuses  existed  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  to  which  the  pending  bill  had  reference.76  Senator 
Gallinger  remarked  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  on  May  26,  1896, 
regarding  this  bill: 

"  I  desire  to  state  that  this  is  the  bill  known  as  the  vivisection  bill,  concerning 
which  there  is  a  great  deal  of  controversy  and  a  very  marked  difference  of  opinion, 

both  on  the  part  of  physicians  and  the  general  public It  is  proper  I  should 

state  in  this  connection  so  as  to  correct  a  misapprehension  that  is  being  very 
industriously  circulated,  that  it  does  not  propose  to  prohibit  vivisection,  but  that  it 
proposes  to  restrict  and  regulate  it  according  to  law,  and  that  is  all."  77 

The  third  International  Zoological  Congress  was  held  in 
Leiden  in  1895  an^  on  mat  occasion  a  commission  was  appointed 
to  examine  the  codes  of  nomenclature  adopted  in  various  con- 
nections, with  a  view  to  determining  whether  the  international 
code  should  be  amended  to  agree  with  the  provisions  of  any  of 
them.  The  commission  was  to  report  at  the  next  succeeding 
congress  to  be  held  in  London  in  1898."  The  American  member 

79  This  letter,  which  was  dated  April  24,  1896,  is  published  in  full  in  the  Report  of  the 
Academy  for  that  year,  pages  18  to  20. 

"Congressional  Record,  vol.  28,  part  6,  p.  5709,  54th  Congress,  ist  Session,  1896.  The 
caption  of  the  bill  was:  "For  the  further  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals  in  the  District 
of  Columbia."  (See  Senate  Report  1049,  54th  Congress,  ist  Session,  on  Senate  Bill  1552.) 

78  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1896,  p.  12. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  79 

of  the  Commission,  Dr.  Charles  Wardell  Stiles,  upon  his  re- 
turn to  this  country,  addressed  a  letter,  dated  April  21,  1896, 
to  the  President  of  the  Academy,  requesting  that  one  of  its 
members  be  appointed  to  serve  on  an  advisory  board  to  which  he 
could  submit  propositions  which  he  intended  to  present  to  the 
Congress  of  1898.  The  President  appointed  Dr.  Theodore  N. 
Gill  as  the  representative  of  the  Academy. 

To  the  five  trust  funds  for  the  promotion  of  science,  already 
administered  by  the  Academy,  a  sixth  was  added  in  1897,  when 
Alice  Bache  Gould  presented  the  sum  of  $20,000,  to  create  a 
fund  in  honor  of  her  father,  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould,  "  for  the 
prosecution  of  researches  in  astronomy."  In  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  Academy  and  dated  November  17,  1897,  Miss  Gould 
explained  the  objects  which  she  had  chiefly  in  mind  in  estab- 
lishing this  fund.  In  this  letter  she  writes : 

"  My  object  in  creating  the  fund  is  two  fold — on  the  one  hand  to  advance  the 
science  of  astronomy,  and  on  the  other  to  honor  my  father's  memory  and  to 
insure  that  his  power  to  accomplish  scientific  work  shall  not  end  with  his  life. 

"  Throughout  my  father's  lifetime  his  patriotic  feeling  and  scientific  ambition 
were  closely  associated,  and  I  wish,  therefore,  that  a  fund  bearing  his  name  should 
be  used,  primarily,  for  the  benefit  of  investigators  in  his  own  country  or  of  his  own 
nationality.  I  recognize,  however,  that  sometimes  the  best  possible  service  to 
American  science  is  the  maintenance  of  close  communion  between  the  scientific 
men  of  Europe  and  of  America,  and  that,  therefore,  even  while  acting  in  the  spirit 
of  the  above  restriction,  it  may  occasionally  be  best  to  apply  the  money  to  the  aid  of 
a  foreign  investigator  working  abroad. 

"  In  this  connection  I  must  also  refer  to  the  strong  interest  felt  by  my  father  in 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,79  and  to  his  belief  in  the  importance  of  creating 
and  maintaining  a  single  national  scientific  body,  whose  preeminence  should  be 
unquestionable  and  of  concentrating  power  in  its  hands 

"  I  wish  that  in  all  cases  work  in  the  astronomy  of  precision  should  be  distinctly 
preferred  to  any  work  in  astrophysics,  both  because  of  my  father's  personal  pref- 
erence and  because  of  the  present  existence  of  generous  endowments  for  astro- 
physics." so 

This  fund  was  accepted  by  the  Academy  by  a  unanimous 
vote,  and  three  trustees  were  appointed  to  take  charge  of  it. 

79  Dr.  Gould  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Academy. 

80  The  letter  is  given  in  full,  together  with  the  deed  of  trust,  in  the  Annual  Report  for 
1897,  pp.  14-16. 


8o  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

1898-1902 

The  Academy  became  connected  in  1899  w*m  a  movement 
having  for  its  purpose  the  association  of  the  scientific  academies 
of  Europe  and  America  for  the  furtherance  of  enterprises  of 
international  scope  and  importance.  It  first  came  to  the  notice 
of  the  National  Academy  through  a  letter  addressed  to  its  Presi- 
dent by  Lord  Lister,  President  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London. 
This  letter,  which  was  dated  April  14,  1899,  is  as  follows : 81 

"  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY,  BURLINGTON  HOUSE, 

"  London,  W .,  April  14,  1899. 

"  SIR:  The  Royal  Society  has  frequently  had  occasion  to  take  action  in  respect 
to  scientific  undertakings  calling  for  the  cooperation  of  several  countries,  and 
undertakings  of  this  nature  show  a  tendency  to  increase.  The  experience  of  the 
society  has  led  to  the  belief  that  it  would  be  very  advantageous  to  the  interests 
of  science  generally  if  some  machinery  could  be  devised  by  means  of  which  sug- 
gestions made  for  international  cooperation  in  scientific  inquiries  could  be  thor- 
oughly discussed  by  the  leading  men  of  science,  from  a  purely  scientific  point  of 
view,  before  definite  proposals  are  made  with  a  view  to  official  action  by  the 
Governments  of  the  countries  concerned. 

"  With  this  view  the  Royal  Society  has  communicated  with  the  leading 
scientific  academies  of  Europe,  whose  replies  give  much  encouragement  to  the  idea 
that  it  may  be  possible  to  establish  an  organization  under  which  formal  and  regular 
meetings  of  representatives  of  all  leading  scientific  academies  may  be  held  for  the 
purpose  of  discussing  scientific  matters  calling  for  international  cooperation,  and  by 
this  means  preparing  the  way  for  international  action.  The  Council  of  the  Royal 
Society  regards  this  question  as  one  of  great  importance,  and  I  am  to  request  you 
to  bring  it  before  your  Academy,  and  to  ask  whether  that  body  would  be  prepared 
to  join  such  an  organization  if  established,  and  to  cooperate  in  arranging  the 
details  for  inaugurating  it  upon  a  practical  working  basis. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  faithfully,  yours, 

"  LISTER, 
"  President  Royal  Society." 

The  letter  was  followed  in  June  of  the  same  year  by  an  invita- 
tion from  the  German  academies,  transmitted  by  the  Royal 
Prussian  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Berlin,  to  send  delegates  to  a 
conference  at  Wiesbaden  on  the  9th  and  loth  of  October  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  an  international  association  of  learned 

81  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1899,  pp.  14-15. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  8 1 

societies.  The  object  of  the  organization,  as  expressed  in  this 
letter,  was  to  be  "  to  support  scientific  undertakings  which  have 
been  begun  or  recommended  either  by  the  assemblage  of  the 
united  scientific  bodies,  or  by  a  group  of  them,  or  by  a  single  one 
of  them,  and  to  render  mutually  intelligible  arrangements  to 
facilitate  scientific  intercourse." 

Such  an  invitation  could  scarcely  be  declined,  and  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Academy,  after  consultation  with  the  members  of 
the  Council,  appointed  as  delegates  to  the  Wiesbaden  conference 
Messrs.  Billings,  Bowditch,  Newcomb,  Remsen  and  Bell.  Only 
Messrs.  Bowditch,  Newcomb  and  Remsen  were,  however,  able 
to  attend  the  meeting. 

At  the  November  meeting  of  the  Academy  (1899)  resolutions 
were  adopted  ratifying  the  action  of  the  President  in  appointing 
delegates  to  the  Wiesbaden  conference,  and  authorizing  him 
to  appoint  delegates  to  the  International  Association  from  time 
to  time  as  might  be  desirable;  also,  approving  the  plan  of  organi- 
zation adopted  at  Wiesbaden,* accepting  membership  in  the 
International  Association,  and  recommending  the  appointment 
by  the  Association  of  special  international  committees.82  The 
general  committee  of  the  Association  met  in  Paris  on  July  31, 
1900,  the  delegates  from  the  National  Academy  on  that  occasion 
being  Messrs.  H.  L.  Abbot,  J.  M.  Crafts  and  A.  Graham  Bell.83 
The  first  meeting  of  the  Association  was  held  in  Paris  in  1901, 
the  Academy  being  represented  by  Professor  George  L. 
Goodale.84 

Two  medals  within  the  gift  of  the  Academy  were  awarded 
again  in  1899,  the  Henry  Draper  Medal  to  Professor  James  E. 
Keeler,  Director  of  the  Lick  Observatory,  for  his  researches  in 

82  The  letters  from  the  Royal  Society  of  London  and  the  Royal  Prussian  Academy  of 
Sciences,  together  with  plans  of  organization  and  a  list  of  academies  and  delegates  are 
given  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  for  1899,  pp.  14-18. 

88  A  report  of  this  meeting  and  a  brief  notice  of  the  earlier  proceedings,  by  J.  M.  Crafts, 
are  printed  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Academy  for  1900,  pp.  14-16. 

84  On  account  of  illness,  Professor  Goodale  was  unable  to  attend  this  meeting.  All  the 
other  academics  forming  the  Association,  seventeen  in  number,  were  represented.  Some  of 
the  more  important  matters  discussed  are  mentioned  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Academy 
for  1901,  p.  17. 


8 2  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

spectroscopic  astronomy,  and  the  Watson  Medal  to  Sir  David 
Gill,  Her  Majesty's  Astronomer  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
"  for  his  work  in  perfecting  the  application  of  the  heliometer  to 
astronomical  measurements,  which  has  resulted  in  an  important 
advance  in  astronomy  of  precision,  especially  in  the  determina- 
tion of  parallaxes  of  the  sun  and  stars  and  of  the  position  of  the 
planets."  8B 

The  fourth  President  of  the  Academy,  Professor  O.  C.  Marsh 
died  on  March  18,  1899.  He  had  been  Acting  President  in  1878 
and  1882,  and  President  from  1883  to  1895.  He  bequeathed 
to  the  Academy  the  sum  of  $10,000  "  for  promoting  original 
research  in  the  natural  sciences."  86 

The  time  having  arrived  once  more  in  1900  for  an  award  of 
the  Barnard  Medal,  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Academy 
unanimously  recommended  Professor  Rontgen  for  that  honor, 
in  the  following  letter: 

"  The  committee  appointed  to  select  one  or  more  names  of  persons  who  are 
best  entitled  to  receive  the  Barnard  medal  from  Columbia  University  respect- 
fully report  that,  after  careful  consideration  of  the  subject,  the  name  of  Prof. 
Wilhelm  Conrad  Rontgen  is  presented  as  being  that  of  the  person  who  has  within 
the  five  years  beginning  July  17,  1894,  rnade  the  discovery  which  is  most  worthy 
of  this  honor,  under  the  terms  of  the  will  of  President  Barnard. 

"  Professor  Rontgen  announced  his  discovery  of  what  he  called  the  X-rays,  now 
commonly  known  as  Rontgen  rays,  in  December,  1895.  These  rays  exhibit  many 
peculiar  properties,  and  have  been  applied  to  various  practical  uses,  the  most 
important  of  which  thus  far  have  been  in  surgery.  They  are  at  the  present  time  one 
of  the  most  interesting  and  important  subjects  of  research  in  physical  science,  and 
the  discovery  may  be  properly  termed  an  epoch-making  one."  87 

In  the  ensuing  year  the  Henry  Draper  Medal  was  awarded 
to  Sir  William  Huggins  for  his  investigations  in  astronomical 
physics.  The  report  of  the  committee,  though  somewhat  long 
for  quotation  in  this  connection,  is  so  very  interesting  that  it 
seems  desirable  that  it  should  be  given  in  full.  It  is  as  follows: 

"  It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  concentrate  into  a  few  pages  the  results  attained  by 
an  active  worker  during  a  period  of  nearly  half  a  century.  Fortunately,  in  the 

85  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1899,  p.  10. 
99  See  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1910,  p.  15. 
wRep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1900,  p.  n. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  83 

present  case,  this  labor  has  been  greatly  simplified  by  the  recent  publication  by  Sir 
William  and  Lady  Huggins,  of  an  Atlas  of  Representative  Spectra  from  wave 
length  4,870  to  3,300,  together  with  a  discussion  of  the  evolutional  order  of  the 
stars,  and  the  interpretation  of  their  spectra,  preceded  by  a  short  history  of  the 
Observatory  and  its  work.  This  monumental  volume  not  only  furnishes  a  state- 
ment of  the  various  publications  of  the  authors,  but  exhibits  the  relation  of  the 
various  investigations  undertaken  much  better  than  could  readily  be  done  by 
another.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  work  began  in  1856  with  a  5-inch  Dolland 
equatorial,  which  was  replaced  two  years  later  by  an  excellent  8-inch  Clark  tele- 
scope. In  1870  this  was  again  replaced  by  a  1 5-inch  achromatic  and  an  1 8-inch 
reflector.  In  1858  Sir  William,  then  Mr.  Huggins,  undertook  with  Dr.  Miller 
the  visual  study  of  stellar  spectra.  This  work  was  continued  until  1864,  and  the 
results  were  communicated  to  the  Royal  Society.  Soon  after  this,  on  August  29, 
1864,  Sir  William  made  one  of  the  great  discoveries  in  astrophysics.  He  found 
that  the  spectrum  of  the  planetary  nebula  in  Draco,  N.  G.  C.  6543,  had  a  mono- 
chromatic spectrum. 

"  It  has  heretofore  been  supposed  that  all  nebulae  might  consist  of  distant  stars 
and  could  be  resolved  into  their  components  by  a  telescope  of  sufficient  power. 
This  theory  was  at  once  disposed  of,  and  it  appeared  that  of  60  of  the  brighter 
nebulas  and  clusters  about  one-third  were  of  this  gaseous  character.  In  1866 
the  observations  of  the  new  star  in  Corona  gave  the  first  clew  to  the  cause  of 
these  remarkable  objects.  In  1868  Sir  William  was  able  to  announce  the  first 
step  in  an  investigation  which  in  recent  years  has  become  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant in  astrophysics.  The  hydrogen  lines  in  the  brightest  stars  showed  a  slight 
displacement,  from  which  the  motion  of  these  bodies  in  the  line  of  sight  may  be 
determined.  The  accurate  measurement  of  this  quantity  is  now  occupying  a 
large  part  of  the  time  of  the  greatest  telescopes  in  the  world.  It  is  leading  to 
unexpected  results,  which  throw  important  light  on  the  formation  of  the  universe. 
The  fact  that  these  displacements  are  wholly  independent  of  the  distance  of  the 
source  of  light  gives  an  opportunity  to  study  problems  for  which  ordinary  visual 
methods  fail  entirely.  About  this  time,  also,  a  study  of  comets  showed  that  their 
spectra  closely  resembled  that  of  olefiant  gas.  A  proposal  of  great  scientific 
importance  was  a  method  of  observing  the  solar  protuberances  in  the  uneclipsed 
sun.  This  method  was  devised  independently  by  Mr.  Lockyer.  It  is  now 
claimed  that  these  remarkable  phenomena  can  be  better  seen  any  clear  day  at  a 
fixed  observatory  than  with  portable  instruments  during  a  total  solar  eclipse.  In 
1876  the  study  of  the  spectra  of  the  stars  by  means  of  photography,  which  had 
been  attempted  without  attaining  satisfactory  results  in  1863,  was  undertaken. 
Among  the  results  published  four  years  later,  one  of  the  most  important  was  the 
discovery  of  the  wonderful  series  of  lines  due  to  hydrogen.  Similar  series  of  lines 
are  now  found  to  exist  in  the  spectra  of  many  other  terrestrial  elements,  and  form 
the  basis  of  the  spectroscopic  relation  of  these  substances  with  one  another. 


84  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  During  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  Sir  William  and  Lady  Huggins  have 
worked  together  in  developing  this  most  powerful  method  of  research.  Applying 
it  to  one  object  after  another,  a  theory  of  the  universe  has  been  evolved,  which  is 
described  in  full  in  the  work  mentioned  above.  It  is  probable  that  this  method 
must,  in  general,  be  followed  in  all  attempts  to  study  the  chemical  relation  of  stars 
to  one  another. 

"  We  thus  see  that  Sir  William  Muggins's  activity  has  extended  over  nearly  half 
a  century.  During  this  time  discoveries  of  the  greatest  importance  have  been  made, 
on  which  advances  in  astrophysics  largely  depend.  Besides  this,  laborious  investi- 
gations have  been  undertaken,  extending  over  many  years,  by  which  the  methods 
discovered  have  been  developed  and  applied.  For  this  remarkable  record  of 
scientific  activity  and  perseverance  the  undersigned  recommend  the  award  by  the 
Academy  of  the  Henry  Draper  medal  to  Sir  William  Huggins."  88 

The  President  of  the  Academy,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  resigned  in 
the  spring  of  1900  and  the  office  remained  vacant  until  April, 
1901,  when  Alexander  Agassiz  was  elected  to  succeed  him.  Dr. 
Agassiz  remained  at  the  head  of  the  Academy  throughout  the 
term  of  six  years  prescribed  by  the  constitution.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1907  by  Dr.  Ira  Remsen. 

The  years  1901  to  1903  were  notable  in  the  history  of  the 
Academy  on  account  of  the  number  of  celebrations  of  important 
events  in  the  learned  world  in  which  it  participated  through 
delegates  appointed  by  the  President.  At  the  celebration  of  the 
45oth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  University  of  Glasgow, 
June  12  to  14,  1901,  the  Academy  was  represented  by  Professor 
William  G.  Farlow  and  Dr.  Theodore  N.  Gill.  Professor 
Farlow  also  represented  the  Academy  at  the  meeting  of  the 
International  Association  of  Botanists  held  at  Geneva,  in  August, 
1901,  and  of  the  International  Association  of  Academies  at  Paris, 
April  1 6,  1901.  At  the  bicentennial  celebration  of  Yale  Univer- 
sity in  October,  1901,  the  Academy  was  represented  by  Dr.  Ira 
Remsen.  Professor  Edward  S.  Morse  was  appointed  a  member 
of  the  general  committee  of  the  International  Congress  of 
Americanists  held  in  New  York  in  1902.  At  the  installation  of 
Dr.  Edmund  J.  James  as  president  of  the  Northwestern  Univer- 
sity, on  October  19  to  21,  1902,  the  Academy  had  as  its  delegates 

88  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  for  1901,  pp.  10,  n. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  8$ 

Professors  C.  R.  Van  Hise  and  E.  H.  Moore;  and  at  the  instal- 
lation of  Dr.  Joseph  Swain  as  president  of  Swarthmore  College, 
on  November  15,  1902,  the  Academy's  delegate  was  Professor 
Edgar  F.  Smith.  The  centenary  celebration  of  the  birth  of  the 
Norwegian  mathematician  Abel  was  held  at  Christiania  on 
September  5,  1902,  on  which  occasion  Professor  Simon  New- 
comb  was  the  delegate  of  the  Academy.  He  was  also  delegated 
to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  International  Associa- 
tion of  Academies  in  London,  June  4,  1903. 

The  eighth  volume  of  the  Memoirs,  containing  seven  articles, 
was  completed  and  published  in  1902. 

1903-1907 

At  the  end  of  the  third  decade  in  its  history,  the  number  of 
original  members  of  the  Academy  who  still  remained  was,  as 
already  noted,  but  eight.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth  decade,  Janu- 
ary i,  1904,  all  of  these  had  died,  save  one.  They  comprised  the 
naturalist,  James  D.  Dana,  who  was  the  first  Vice-President  of 
the  Academy  (died  in  1895)  >  Benjamin  A.  Gould,  the  astron- 
omer (1896)  ;  James  Hall,  the  paleontologist  (1898)  ;  J.  Peter 
Lesley,  the  geologist  (1903);  H.  A.  Newton,  the  astronomer 
(1896);  J.  D.  Whitney,  the  geologist  (1896);  and  Fairman 
Rogers,  who  was  the  first  Treasurer  of  the  Academy,  and  served 
in  that  capacity  for  sixteen  years  ( 1900) . 

The  Henry  Draper  Medal  was  presented  on  April  20,  1904,  to 
Professor  George  E.  Hale,  Director  of  the  Yerkes  Observatory, 
for  his  important  services  to  astronomy.  The  report  of  the 
committee,  which  made  the  award  contains  the  following  state- 
ments regarding  his  labors: 

"  The  work  of  Professor  Hale  may  be  divided  into  four  classes:  Investigations 
of  solar  phenomena,  studies  of  stellar  spectra,  editing  the  Astrophysical  Journal, 
and  the  executive  work  involved  in  the  direction  of  the  Yerkes  Observatory. 
In  1868,  it  was  shown  by  Janssen  and  Lockyer,  independently,  that  solar 
protuberances  might  be  observed  when  the  sun  was  not  eclipsed.  The  method 
employed  was  to  allow  an  image  of  the  edge  of  the  sun's  disk  to  fall  upon  the  slit 
of  a  spectroscope,  and  thus  obtain  the  spectrum  of  this  region  only.  If  the  image 


86  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

of  a  protuberance  fell  upon  the  slit,  so  large  a  portion  of  its  light  was  monochro- 
matic that  the  hydrogen  line  C  appeared  as  a  bright  line  in  the  corresponding 
portion  of  the  spectrum.  If  now  the  slit  was  widened,  the  form  of  the  protuber- 
ance became  visible.  By  placing  a  second  slit  so  as  to  cut  off  all  portions  of  the 
spectrum  except  that  of  the  line  to  be  studied,  replacing  the  eyepiece  by  a  photo- 
graphic plate,  and  giving  similar  motions  to  the  latter  and  to  the  image  of  the  sun 
on  the  slit  we  have  the  spectroheliograph.  The  principal  credit  must  be  given 
to  Professor  Hale  for  the  independent  invention  of  this  instrument,  for  excellence 
in  the  plans  of  its  mechanical  construction,  for  skill  in  its  use,  and  for  the  final 
results  obtained  with  it,  although  as  almost  always  happens,  a  portion  of  the 
credit  must  be  given  to  other  astronomers  who  were  pursuing  the  same  line 
of  work 

"  Professor  Hale  has  shown  the  same  skill  in  invention,  construction,  and 
application  in  the  other  portions  of  his  work.  The  problem  of  photographing  the 
spectra  of  the  stars  of  the  third  and  fourth  types  is  one  of  unusual  difficulty. 
....  By  the  great  light-collecting  power  of  the  4O-inch  refractor,  and  the  use 
of  isochromatic  plates,  Professor  Hale  succeeded  in  photographing  the  spectra  of 
these  stars  with  a  large  dispersion 

"During  the  years  1893,  1894,  and  1895,  Professor  Hale  edited  the  astro- 
physical  portion  of  Astronomy  and  Metaphysics.  In  January,  1896,  he  estab- 
lished the  Astrophysical  Journal,  associating  with  him  the  leading  astrophysicists 
of  the  world  as  assistant  editors 

"  The  manifold  duties  of  the  director  of  a  great  observatory  may  not  be  appre- 
ciated by  one  who  sees  only  the  results.  To  attain  success  good  judgment, 
patience,  skill,  and  knowledge  of  a  great  variety  of  subjects  are  required.  For 
the  establishment,  erection  of  buildings,  construction  of  instruments,  selection  of 
officers,  general  plan  of  work,  and  assignment  of  duties,  a  vast  amount  of  time 
and  energy  is  required  before  the  actual  scientific  work  begins 

"  The  reasons  enumerated  above  show  why  the  Henry  Draper  medal  has  been 
awarded  to  Prof.  George  Ellery  Hale."  89 

As  would  naturally  be  anticipated,  the  adhesion  of  the 
National  Academy  to  the  project  for  an  International  Associa- 
tion of  Academies  in  1899  soon  involved  it  in  the  consideration 
of  scientific  enterprises  of  world-wide  scope.  The  first  of  these 
was  a  movement  for  the  organization  of  an  international  seismo- 
logical  association,  which  was  brought  to  its  attention  by  Sir 
Michael  Foster  in  1902,  in  his  capacity  as  chairman  of  the  inter- 
national council  of  the  Association  of  Academies  and  as  repre- 

88  For  the  full  report,  see  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1904,  pp.  14-15. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  87 

sentative  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London.  To  aid  the  Royal 
Society  in  advising  the  British  Government,  he  desired  to  be 
informed  of  the  views  of  the  National  Academy,  and  the  other 
constituent  academies  of  the  Association,  as  to  whether  it  was 
deemed  desirable  to  promote  the  project  of  the  international 
seismological  conference  held  in  Strassburg  in  April,  1901,  for 
the  formation  of  an  international  seismological  association.  The 
object  of  this  association  was  to  be  the  solution  of  the  various 
problems  of  seismology  through  the  establishment  of  seismo- 
logical stations  in  various  parts  of  the  world.90 

The  matter  was  referred  to  the  Council  of  the  National 
Academy,  which  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  it.  The 
committee  reported  in  November,  1905.  In  the  meantime,  meet- 
ings of  the  International  Association  of  Academies  were  held  in 
1903  and  1904,  and  at  the  latter  seismology  was  a  prominent 
subject  of  discussion.  The  report  which  the  committee  of  the 
National  Academy  brought  in  in  1905  was,  however,  unfavorable 
as  regards  the  establishment  of  seismological  stations,  on  the 
ground  that  the  theoretical  basis  of  the  science  was  very  imper- 
fect. "  Seismometry  "  the  committee  remarked,  "  is  open  to  im- 
provement in  two  directions.  On  the  one  hand,  some  able  mathe- 
matical physicist  should  be  commissioned  to  elaborate  the  theory 
of  vibrations  in  a  sphere  in  which  elastic  properties  and  density 
vary  with  the  radius;  and  on  the  other  hand,  experimental 
physicists  should  make  strenuous  efforts  to  devise  a  seismometer 
capable  of  recording  the  vertical  components  of  small  shocks."  91 
The  report  ended  with  a  recommendation  that  the  matter  be 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Wash- 
ington, and  the  Home  Secretary  was  instructed  by  the  Academy 
to  send  a  copy  of  the  report  to  that  institution. 

At  the  April  meeting,  1904,  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
consider  the  preparation  of  general  plans  for  international  work 
in  solar  research  and  to  enter  into  communication  with  other 

90  See  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1902,  pp.  17-19,  where  the  letter  and  the  plan  of  the 
seismological  conference  are  given  in  full. 

91  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  for  1905,  p.  16. 


88  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

organizations  for  the  purpose  of  securing  their  cooperation  in 
the  undertaking.  The  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  an  expo- 
sition of  universal  scope,  was  held  in  St.  Louis  that  year,  and 
in  connection  therewith  was  assembled  an  International  Con- 
gress of  Arts  and  Sciences.  As  a  large  number  of  prominent 
men  of  science  from  all  parts  of  the  world  were  likely  to  attend 
the  Congress,  it  was  deemed  an  auspicious  occasion  on  which  to 
hold  a  conference  on  solar  research.  Accordingly,  invitations  to 
such  a  conference  were  sent  to  scientific  organizations  in  Europe 
and  America  that  were  likely  to  be  interested  in  the  proposed 
undertaking.  The  conference  was  attended  by  delegates  from 
12  academies  and  astronomical,  astrophysical,  and  physical 
societies.  The  International  Meteorological  Committee  was 
also  represented.  The  conference  was  opened  by  Professor 
George  E.  Hale,  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  who  explained  the  purpose  of  the  pro- 
posed organization,  "  emphasized  the  importance  of  encour- 
aging individual  initiative,  and  urged  that  no  less  attention  be 
paid  to  such  encouragement  than  to  the  accomplishment  of 
large  pieces  of  routine  work  through  cooperative  effort." 

In  the  form  of  resolutions,  the  conference  expressed  its  views 
regarding  the  form  of  cooperative  research  which  was  desirable, 
the  desirability  of  obtaining  the  approval  and  patronage  of  the 
International  Association  of  Academies,  and  the  cooperation  of 
the  International  Meteorological  Committee  and  the  Hungarian 
Academy  of  Sciences,  and  the  formation  of  an  international 
committee  and  a  committee  on  program.  After  discussing 
various  aspects  of  the  work  of  the  solar  research,  the  conference 
adjourned  to  meet  at  Oxford  in  1905.  The  Oxford  meeting,  at 
which  the  organization  was  denominated  the  International 
Union  for  Cooperation  in  Solar  Research,  was  largely  attended 
and  was  followed  by  a  meeting  at  Meudon,  near  Paris  in  May, 
1907.  The  Union  commenced  the  publication  of  a  series  of 
Transactions,  a  copy  of  the  first  volume  of  which  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Academy  at  the  April  meeting,  1907,  by  the  chair- 
man of  the  committee  of  the  Academy.  The  fourth  meeting 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  89 

of  the  Solar  Union,  as  it  is  informally  designated,  was  held  on 
Mount  Wilson,  California,  in  1910.  At  this  time  it  comprised 
committees  representing  eight  academies,  three  astrophysical 
societies,  five  physical  societies,  and  four  other  organizations, 
including  the  International  Meteorological  Committee.  The 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  National  Academy  remarked 
as  follows,  regarding  the  work: 

"  The  chief  work  of  the  union  is  undoubtedly  the  stimulation  of  interest  in  solar 
research  and  the  encouragement  of  workers  in  the  field.  It  has  brought  together 
astronomers  and  physicists  on  common  ground,  thus  contributing  toward  the  solu- 
tion of  problems  lying  on  the  borderland  between  these  subjects.  The  influence  of 
the  union  seems  to  be  apparent  in  the  marked  activity  which  has  resulted  in  many 
recent  additions  to  our  knowledge  of  the  sun.  But  it  has  also  accomplished  much 
in  other  ways.  The  establishment  of  a  new  system  of  wave  lengths,  based  on 
Michelson's  determinations  of  the  absolute  wave  length  of  the  green  cadmium 
line,  and  the  measurements  of  standard  lines  already  made  by  Fabry  and  Buisson, 
Eversheim,  and  Pfund,  will  be  of  lasting  benefit  to  exact  science.  The  daily  pho- 
tography of  the  sun,  with  spectroheliographs  in  Sicily,  France,  Spain,  Germany, 
England,  Mexico,  the  United  States,  and  India,  will  soon  be  supplemented,  it  is 
hoped,  by  stations  in  Australia  and  China,  and  possibly  in  Japan.  In  this  way  the 
changing  phenomena  of  the  solar  atmosphere  are  recorded  from  hour  to  hour.  A 
program  for  the  co-operative  study  of  sun-spot  spectra,  adopted  at  Paris,  will  now 
be  revised  to  adapt  it  to  the  new  conditions  presented  by  recent  discoveries.  The 
chief  progress  in  the  study  of  the  intensity  of  the  solar  radiation  has  come 
through  the  work  of  the  Smithsonian  Astrophysical  Observatory,  but  the  use  in 
Italy,  France,  and  India  of  standard  pyrheliometers  sent  out  by  Abbot  should  soon 
result  in  the  initiation  of  a  general  scheme  of  cooperation.  Adams's  discovery  that 
the  law  of  the  solar  rotation  varies  at  different  altitudes  in  the  sun's  atmosphere 
has  been  confirmed  by  Perot,  and  others  are  entering  this  important  field. 
Cooperation  in  eclipse  observations  and  in  other  departments  of  solar  research  has 
also  been  initiated  by  the  union."  92 

The  ninth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  was  published  in  1905. 

The  time  for  the  award  of  the  Barnard  Medal  having  arrived 
once  more  in  1905,  the  committee  of  the  Academy  recommended 
that  Professor  Henri  Becquerel  be  the  recipient  of  this  honor. 
The  report  made  at  the  April  meeting  of  that  year  was  as 
follows : 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1910,  p.  18. 


90  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  The  committee  on  the  Barnard  medal  respectfully  recommend  that  Prof. 
Henri  Becquerel,  of  Paris,  member  of  the  Institute,  be  recommended  by  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences  to  the  trustees  of  Columbia  University  as  the 
proper  recipient  of  the  Barnard  medal  to  be  awarded  next  June.  In  making  this 
recommendation  the  committee  has  borne  in  mind  not  only  the  important  dis- 
coveries in  the  field  of  radio-activity  made  by  Professor  Becquerel  during  the  last 
five  years,  but  also  the  fact  that  he  was  the  original  discoverer  of  the  so-called 
dark  rays  from  uranium,  which  discovery  has  been  the  basis  of  subsequent 
research  into  and  of  our  present  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  radio-activity."  93 

Since  the  formation  of  the  International  Association  of 
Academies,  of  which  the  National  Academy  became  a  member, 
the  interest  in  the  national  and  international  cooperation  in 
research  work  has  greatly  increased,  and  the  Academy  has 
participated  in  many  undertakings  of  broad  scope  which  have 
been  beneficial  in  the  promotion  of  science.  Mention  has  al- 
ready been  made  of  the  work  of  the  International  Seismological 
Association  and  the  International  Union  for  Cooperation  in 
Solar  Research.  In  1906,  a  proposal  was  made  to  the  Academy 
that  it  should  lend  its  aid  and  patronage  to  a  scheme  for  national 
cooperation  in  chemical  research.  The  primary  object  of  the 
plan  was  to  arouse  interest  in  and  to  provide  means  for  a  syste- 
matic attack  on  the  problem  of  the  free-energy  changes  which 
accompany  chemical  reactions.  "  The  principle  of  the  second 
law  of  energetics,"  remarked  the  promoter  of  this  enterprise  in 
1906,  "  that  any  change  in  the  state  of  a  system,  whether  physical 
or  chemical,  is  capable  of  producing  under  the  most  favorable 
conditions  a  definite  quantity  of  work  is  one  whose  importance 
has  been  extensively  recognized  within  the  last  few  years.  This 
importance  arises  not  only  from  the  direct  significance  from  a 
scientific  and  technical  standpoint  of  this  maximum  quantity  of 
work  obtainable  from  any  physical  change  or  chemical  reaction, 
but  also  from  the  fact  that  from  its  value  alone  can  be  directly 
computed  the  equilibrium  conditions  of  the  chemical  reaction  in 
question,  the  direction  in  which  under  specified  conditions  it 
will  take  place,  and  the  electromotive  force  of  any  voltaic  cell 
in  which  the  reaction  goes  on  reversibly."  94 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1905,  p.  13. 
MRep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1906,  p.  19. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  91 

Not  only  was  the  importance  of  the  investigation  per  se  in- 
sisted upon,  but  it  was  considered  that  it  would  stimulate  an 
interest  in  chemical  research  among  the  rising  generation  of 
students  of  that  branch  of  science,  particularly,  because  it  offered 
a  wide  field  for  individual  ingenuity  and  initiative,  while  at 
the  same  time  it  did  not  demand  the  most  costly  and  extensive 
facilities,  or  the  most  finished  training.  The  scheme  was  re- 
ferred by  the  Academy  to  a  committee  which  reported  favorably 
upon  it,  and  the  report  was  adopted  by  the  Academy. 

The  committee  was  continued,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
approval  of  the  Academy,  associated  with  itself  Dr.  G.  N.  Lewis 
of  Boston,  who  had  given  much  attention  personally  to  the 
problems  of  chemical  reactions.  At  the  November  meeting, 
1907,  this  committee  reported  that  it  had  prepared  a  circular 
letter  to  heads  of  departments  and  to  research  workers  in  educa- 
tional establishments,  outlining  the  plan  of  research,  and  asked 
the  Academy  to  approve  its  distribution.  This  was  granted  and 
the  letter  was  accordingly  circulated.  Besides  stating  the 
problem  and  asking  cooperation  in  its  solution,  the  letter  men- 
tioned three  pamphlets  bearing  on  the  subject  which  had  been 
prepared,  by  the  committee  containing  a  summary  of  the 
problem,  the  best  means  of  attacking  it  and  a  resume  of  the 
condition  of  knowledge  regarding  it.  These  were  entitled 
respectively,  "  The  Maximum  Work  Producible  by  Chemical 
Reactions,"  "  The  Principles  of  Energetics  and  their  Application 
to  Chemical  and  Physico-chemical  Changes,"  and  "  The  Free 
Energy  of  Chemical  Compounds." 

The  list  of  trust  funds  of  the  Academy,  already  a  long  one, 
received  an  important  addition  in  November,  1907,  when  Gen- 
eral Cyrus  B.  Comstock,  Director  of  the  Geodetic  Survey  of  the 
Northern  and  Northwestern  Lakes  and  President  of  the 
Mississippi  River  Commission,  presented  the  sum  of  $10,000 
"  to  advance  knowledge  in  electricity,  magnetism,  and  radiant 
energy,  by  the  giving  of  money  prizes  for  important  investi- 
gations or  discoveries  in  those  subjects."  It  was  General  Com- 
stock's  wish  that  the  principal  of  the  fund  should  be  maintained 


92  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

at  the  market  value  of  $10,000.  After  providing  a  plan  for  in- 
creasing the  capital  fund  to  $15,000,  the  deed  of  trust  requires 
that  once  in  every  five  years,  about  two-thirds  of  the  accumulated 
interest  shall  be  awarded  as  a  prize,  to  be  known  as  the  "  Corn- 
stock  Prize,"  "  to  the  bona  fide  resident  of  North  America,  who, 
not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than  six  years  before  the  award- 
ing of  the  prize,  shall  have  made  in  the  judgment  of  the  trustee 
the  most  important  discovery  or  investigation  in  electricity  or 
magnetism  or  radiant  energy."  In  case  no  such  discovery  or  in- 
vestigation is  deemed  worthy  of  the  prize  the  trustee  is  permitted, 
under  certain  conditions,  to  allot  the  prize-money  in  aiding 
research.  The  "  Comstock  Prize  "  has  not  as  yet  been  awarded.95 
During  the  period  under  consideration,  1903  to  1907,  the 
following  delegates  were  appointed  to  represent  the  Academy 
at  meetings  of  various  international  associations,  or  celebrations 
at  universities:  Professor  Simon  Newcomb  was  delegated  to 
attend  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  International  Association 
of  Academies  in  London,  June  4,  1903.  The  same  year  Dr. 
S.  F.  Emmons,  President  Van  Hise  and  Dr.  Geo.  F.  Becker, 
represented  the  Academy  at  the  International  Geological  Con- 
gress held  at  Vienna  on  August  27.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
5Oth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
in  1904,  Professor  Grove  K.  Gilbert  and  Dr.  Geo.  E.  Hale  were 
the  representatives  of  the  Academy,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the 
International  Association  of  Academies  held  in  London  on  May 
25,  1904,  the  Academy  was  represented  by  its  Foreign  Associates, 
Sir  Archibald  Geikie  and  Sir  E.  Ray  Lankester.  The  following 
year  Dr.  William  Trelease  was  designated  to  attend  the  Inter- 
national Botanical  Congress  held  in  Vienna,  June  n  to  18,  1905, 
while  Dr.  George  E.  Hale  and  Professor  W.  W.  Campbell  were 
the  representatives  on  the  Committee  on  Solar  Research  which 
met  at  Oxford  in  September,  1905.  In  1906  Dr.  Arnold  Hague 
represented  the  Academy  at  the  quaternary  celebration  of  the 
University  of  Aberdeen.  The  following  year  Professor  T.  C. 
Chamberlin  was  the  delegate  of  the  Academy  at  the  celebration 

"For  the  deed  of  trust  and  other  documents,  see  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1907,  pp.  13-15. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  93 

of  the  5oth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  Michigan  Agricul- 
tural College,  May  28  to  31 ;  Dr.  Alexander  Agassiz  represented 
the  Academy  at  the  Seventh  International  Zoological  Congress 
held  in  Boston,  August  19  to  23;  Dr.  Arnold  Hague,  at  the 
centenary  celebration  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  Sep- 
tember 26  to  28 ;  Dr.  George  E.  Hale,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Inter- 
national Association  of  Academies,  and  at  the  third  meeting  of  the 
Union  for  Cooperation  in  Solar  Research,  in  Paris,  in  May; 
Professor  W.  C.  Brogger,  at  the  bicentenary  celebration  of  the 
birth  of  Linnaeus  at  Upsala,  May  23  and  24;  and  Professor  Henry 
F.  Osborn  at  a  similar  celebration  in  New  York. 


1908-1912 

The  proceedings  of  the  Academy  in  1908  and  the  events  of  that 
year  were  important  from  many  points  of  view.  The  last  of  the 
incorporators  of  the  Academy,  Professor  Wolcott  Gibbs,  died  on 
December  9.  He  was  Vice-President  of  the  Academy  from  1 872 
to  1878  and  President  from  1895  to  1901.  He  had  also  been  the 
first  Home  Secretary,  serving  in  that  capacity  from  1863  to  1872. 
In  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life  published  in  1908,  it  is  remarked: 
"  His  long  life  was  devoted  to  the  cause  of  research  in  the  field  of 
pure  science,  and  his  influence  was  always  on  the  side  of  the 
highest  ideals."  He  was  succeeded  in  the  presidency  by  Alex- 
ander Agassiz. 

The  subject  of  the  preservation  of  the  forests  of  the  United 
States  had  become  one  of  strong  public  interest  in  the  country 
in  1908,  and  the  Academy  again  voiced  its  opinion  regarding 
this  matter  in  so  far  as  it  related  to  the  forests  of  the  White 
Mountains  and  the  Appalachians  in  the  following  resolutions 
of  the  Council  which  were  transmitted  to  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives: 

"  Whereas  under  the   present   drain   upon   the  forest   timber  supply  of   the 
entire  United  States  will  be  exhausted  within  twenty  years,  while  in  the  Eastern 
States,  where  no  adequate  means  have  been  employed  to  protect  the  forest,  the 
end  of  the  supply  is  even  nearer ; 
8 


94  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  Whereas  the  headwaters  of  all  important  navigable  streams  to  the  west 
of  the  Mississippi  River  are  now  protected  by  national  forests,  while  the  Appa- 
lachian Mountains,  which  form  the  waterheads  of  many  navigable  streams  of 
great  importance,  are  entirely  unprotected  and  are  being  damaged  to  a  menacing 
extent  by  the  wasteful  cutting  of  the  forest,  unrestricted  fires,  and  injudicious 
clearing ; 

"Resolved,  That  the  council  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  heartily 
favors  the  extension  of  the  national  forest  system  to  the  Appalachian  Mountains 
for  their  protection  and  permanent  utilization. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  urge  upon  Congress  the  passage  at  the  present  session  of  a 
bill  to  acquire  in  the  southern  Appalachian  Mountains  and  the  White  Mountains 
such  forest  lands  as  are  necessary  to  protect  the  navigable  streams  which  have 
their  sources  therein  and  to  make  permanent  the  timber  supply  of  the  eastern 
part  of  the  Unietd  States."  96 

The  important  results  obtained  through  cooperative  methods 
of  research  led  the  Academy  in  1908  to  appoint  additional  com- 
mittees for  the  promotion  of  such  activities.  One  of  these,  the 
Committee  on  International  Cooperation  in  Research,  was  to 
serve  as  the  adviser  of  the  Academy  in  its  relations  with  the 
International  Association  of  Academies.  Its  duties  were  "  to 
keep  in  close  touch  with  the  work  of  the  International  Associa- 
tion of  Academies,  and  to  assist  in  securing  suitable  representa- 
tion of  the  Academy  at  the  council  and  general  meetings  of  the 
Association";  and  also  "to  consider  plans  for  cooperation  in 
research,  and  to  recommend  from  time  to  time  the  initiation 
of  such  cooperative  investigations  as  may  warrant  the  support 
of  the  Academy."  In  1909,  this  committee  submitted  a  very 
interesting  report,  which,  as  it  briefly  summarizes  the  activities 
of  the  Academy  in  this  connection,  seems  to  demand  quotation 
in  full.  It  is  as  follows : 9T 

"  The  committee  on  cooperation  in  research  met  in  Boston  on  April  5. 
Reports  of  progress  were  received  from  the  committees  on  solar  research,  on 
chemical  research,  on  paleontologic  correlation,  and  on  brain  research. 

"  The  International  Union  for  Cooperation  in  Solar  Research  has  held  three 
meetings,  a  preliminary  one  at  St.  Louis,  and  largely  attended  meetings  at  Oxford 
and  Paris.  The  second  volume  of  Transactions  has  recently  been  published. 
Arrangements  are  now  being  made  for  the  next  meeting,  which  is  to  be  held  at 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1908,  p.  20. 
97  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1909,  p.  13. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  95 

Pasadena  and  Mount  Wilson  in  1910.     A  large  amount  of  cooperative  work  is 
in  progress  under  the  auspices  of  the  union. 

"  The  committee  on  chemical  research  has  prepared  a  circular  letter  to 
investigators,  inviting  their  cooperation,  and  the  work  will  be  developed  rapidly 
as  soon  as  Doctor  Noyes  is  relieved  from  his  present  duties  as  acting  president  of 
the  Institute  of  Technology  (in  a  few  weeks). 

"  The  committee  recognized  the  importance  of  cooperative  investigations  in  this 
country,  as  well  as  those  of  international  scope,  and  decided  to  encourage  promis- 
ing opportunities  in  either  field. 

"  The  chairman  was  authorized  to  invite  several  other  members  of  the  academy 
(selected  by  the  committee)  to  join  the  committee,  namely,  Messrs.  Mall,  Moore, 
Chittenden,  Chamberlin,  Davis,  and  Wilson. 

"  The  importance  of  providing  for  adequate  means  of  publication  of  short 
papers,  as  well  as  complete  volumes  of  transactions,  was  recognized  by  the  com- 
mittee, and  it  was  decided  to  request  you  to  bring  this  matter  to  the  attention  of 
the  council. 

"  It  was  announced  that  the  academy  would  be  represented  by  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  (George  E.  Hale)  at  the  council  meeting  of  the  Inter- 
national Association  of  Academies,  to  be  held  in  Rome  June  1-3  next.  The 
appointment  of  Professor  Hale  was  made  by  President  Remsen. 

"  SIMON  NEWCOMB, 
"  A.  A.  NOYES, 
"  C.  S.  MINOT, 
"  H.  F.  OSBORN, 
"  GEORGE  E.  HALE,  Chairman. 
11  Communicated  by 

"  HENRY  F.  OSBORN." 

The  second  cooperative  committee  appointed  in  1908  was  one 
on  International  Paleontological  Correlation.  The  committee 
on  this  important  subject  divided  itself  into  a  Vertebrate  Section 
and  an  Invertebrate  Section.  The  Vertebrate  Section  submitted 
a  report  in  1909,  which  was  published  in  the  Annals  of  the 
New  York  Academy  of  Sciences,  under  the  title  of  "  Geologic 
Correlation  Through  Vertebrate  Paleontology  by  International 
Cooperation."  98 

The  Academy  published  this  year  a  comprehensive  report  on 
the  trust  funds  of  the  Academy,  comprising  transcripts  of  wills 

"Annals  N.  Y.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  xix,  no.  2,  part  i,  pp.  41-44,  April  20,  1909,  "Correlation 
Bulletin,  no.  i,  Plan  and  Scope." 


96  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

and  deeds  of  trusts,  lists  of  donors,  subscribers,  trustees,  com- 
mittees, etc.,  data  regarding  the  amount  of  the  principal  of  the 
several  funds,  the  amount  of  the  income,  the  amount  and  object 
of  expenditures,  and  a  summary  of  the  action  of  the  Academy 
relative  to  the  funds  from  year  to  year.  As  already  mentioned, 
the  trust  funds  of  the  Academy  in  1895  were  six  in  number,  the 
combined  principal  of  which  amounted  to  $94,000.  In  1908  two 
funds  had  been  added,  and  the  total  amount  of  the  capital  aggre- 
gated $170,359.17." 

From  these  funds,  between  the  years  1871  and  1908,  175  grants 
were  made,  ranging  in  amount  from  $25  to  $2500  each.  The 
majority  were  from  the  Bache  Fund  and  from  the  Gould  Fund. 
In  addition,  the  income  of  the  Wolcott  Gibbs  Fund  was 
regularly  alloted,  and  gold  medals  were  presented  from  the 
funds  which  provided  for  them. 

The  grants  from  the  Bache  Fund  between  1871  and  1908 
amounted  to  about  $76,000,  distributed  in  the  following 
manner:100 

Astronomy  and  Astrophysics $25,650 

Physics 14,634 

Magnetic  Surveys    8,260 

Physiology  and   Pathology 6,600 

Miscellaneous 101 5,35O 

Chemistry   5, 150 

Zoology   5,050 

Botany 3, 100 

Paleontology 1 ,200 

Psychology    600 

Meteorology   550 

Seismology 100 


Total $76,244 

The  grants  from  the  Gould  Fund  between  1899  and  1908  were 
all  for  astronomical  investigations  and  amounted  to    $9,430. 

w  Of  this  sum,  $40,000  is  not  yet  available. 

100  The  classification  is  not  entirely  exact,  as  the  object  of  the  grants  is  not  always  definitely 
stated. 

101  Some  of  the  items  under  this  heading  are  probably  chargeable  to  astronomy. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  97 

Grants  from  other  funds  for  astronomical  purposes  amounted  to 
$7,645.  The  total  for  astronomical  and  astrophysical  investiga- 
tions was  about  $42,725  or  nearly  one-half  the  amount  of  all 
grants  made  between  1871  and  1908,  the  sum  total  of  which  was 
about  $94,ooo.102 

In  1909,  a  first  installment  of  the  bequest  of  Professor  O.  C. 
Marsh,  was  sent  to  the  Academy  by  the  executor  of  his  estate, 
with  the  following  letter: 

"NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.,  November  17,  1909. 
"  PROFESSOR  S.  F.  EMMONS, 

Treasurer  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences, 

"  Washington,  D.  C. 

"DEAR  SIR:  I  think  you  are  perhaps  already  aware  that  the  late  Prof. 
O.  C.  Marsh  left  a  bequest  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  The  seventh 
clause  of  his  will  is  as  follows: 

'  I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  to  the  corporation  known  as  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  the  sum  of  $10,000  as  a  trust  fund, 
the  income  to  be  used  and  expended  by  it  for  promoting  original  research  in  the 
natural  sciences.' 

"  When  Prof.  Marsh  died  he  was  somewhat  in  debt,  and  we  have  just 
succeeded  in  paying  the  last  of  his  notes,  and  have  a  small  balance  over,  so  are 
sending  you  with  this  a  check  for  $1,250  as  a  first  payment  of  the  above  legacy. 
We  hope  later  to  be  able  to  pay  the  whole  amount,  as  we  receive  from  time  to  time 
certain  moneys  from  the  George  Peabody  estate,  as  certain  trusts  fall  back  into 
that  estate,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  amount  still  to  be  received  from  that 
source  will  be  enough  to  do  this.  Will  you  kindly  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
this  payment,  and  at  a  later  date  send  us  the  acceptance  of  the  academy  of  the 
above  trust? 

"  With  great  respect,  I  am,  sir, 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"  WM.  W.  FARNAM, 

"  Executor  Estate  of  O.  C.  Marsh" 

The  Academy,  upon  recommendation  of  the  Council,  ac- 
cepted this  bequest  and  directed  that  it  be  accumulated  until  it 
should  amount  to  the  sum  of  $10,000  before  any  grants  were 
made  from  it. 

The  income  of  the  Watson  Fund  since  1901,  which  was  also  devoted  to  astronomical 
researches,  and  some  minor  items  of  a  miscellaneous  character,  are  not  included  in  the 
foregoing  figures. 


9«  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

In  1910  the  Henry  Draper  Medal  was  awarded  to  Mr. 
Charles  Greeley  Abbot,  Director  of  the  Smithsonian  Astrophys- 
ical  Observatory  "  for  his  researches  on  the  infra-red  region 
of  the  solar  spectrum  and  his  accurate  measurements,  by  im- 
proved devices,  of  the  solar  (  constant '  of  radiation."  103  The 
medal  was  presented  to  Mr.  Abbot  at  the  annual  dinner,  April 
19,  1911.  Five  years  having  elapsed  since  the  last  award  of  the 
Barnard  Medal,  a  committee  of  the  Academy  recommended 
that  it  be  given  in  1910  to  Dr.  Ernest  Rutherford,  Langworthy 
Professor  of  Physics  and  Director  of  the  Physical  Laboratory 
in  the  University  of  Manchester,  for  his  investigations  on  the 
phenomena  of  radio-activity.  The  committee  remarked,  in  part, 
as  follows: 

"  Prof.  Rutherford  has  been  identified  with  this  branch  of  physical  science 
since  its  inception  by  the  discovery  of  the  so-called  X-rays  in  1895.  His 
researches,  published  in  numerous  communications  to  current  journals,  appear 
to  have  contributed  more  than  those  of  any  contemporary  to  the  establishment 
of  the  salient  properties  of  radio-active  substances.  Not  content  with  the  experi- 
mental determination  and  verification  of  these  properties,  he  has  recently  gone 
further  and  pointed  out  the  convincing  evidence  they  afford  of  the  correctness  of 
the  ancient  doctrine  of  the  atomic  structure  of  matter.  In  addition  to  his  con- 
tributions in  this  field  of  investigation  of  many  original,  ingenious,  and  pene- 
trating methods  of  observation  and  measurement,  he  has  also  furnished  the  best 
general  account  of  its  origin,  development,  and  present  status  in  his  book  on 
Radio-active  Transformations  (published  in  1906)  and  in  his  presidential  address 
read  before  the  section  of  mathematics  and  physics  of  the  British  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science,  in  August,  1909."  104 

The  medal  was  awarded  to  Professor  Rutherford,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  recommendation  of  the  committee. 

The  Academy  was  represented  at  the  meeting  of  the  council  of 
the  International  Association  of  Academies  held  in  Rome  in  June, 
1909,  by  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  International  Cooper- 
ation in  Research,  Professor  George  E.  Hale,  who  was  also  the 
delegate  to  the  Darwin  Celebration  at  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge, June  22  to  24,  1909.  The  committee  recommended  that 
the  Academy  should  vote  in  favor  of  admitting  the  Swiss  Society 

10*Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1910,  p.  12. 
*"*  Loc.  cit.,  p.  14. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  99 

of  Natural  Sciences  to  membership  in  the  Association  and  also 
in  favor  of  publishing  annually  a  volume  of  physical  and 
chemical  tables  in  accordance  with  a  plan  presented  to  the 
Association.  These  tables  were  to  be  compiled  from  current 
periodicals,  and  to  be  classified  under  five  general  heads :  general 
physics,  heat,  electricity  and  magnetism,  light  and  sound,  physi- 
cal chemistry.  It  was  expected  that  they  would  be  useful  to 
students,  investigators  and  those  concerned  with  the  practical 
applications  of  physics  and  chemistry,  as  they  would  bring 
together  in  convenient  form  a  variety  of  tables  that  might  other- 
wise be  overlooked  or  difficult  of  access.  The  first  volume  of 
tables  was  published  in  191  a.105 

The  Academy  was  invited  in  1910  by  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society  to  consider  the  question  of  the  establishment  of 
a  seismological  laboratory.  The  project  was  favorably  recom- 
mended by  the  Council  and  at  the  meeting  of  April,  1910,  the 
Academy  adopted  the  following  resolution : 

"Resolved,  That  the  academy  strongly  approves  the  establishment  of  the  pro- 
posed Seismological  Laboratory,  and  its  organization  under  the  direction  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution."  106 

Two  delegates  were  appointed  in  1910  to  represent  the 
Academy  at  international  conventions  held  during  that  year. 
At  the  International  Association  of  Academies  held  at  Rome 
in  May,  and  at  the  International  Zoological  Congress,  held  at 
Gratz,  in  August,  the  Academy  was  represented  by  Mr.  E.  G. 
Conklin;  at  the  International  Geological  Congress,  held  in 
Stockholm  in  the  latter  month,  by  Mr.  S.  F.  Emmons. 

Dr.  Arnold  Hague  represented  the  Academy  on  the  occasion 
of  the  celebration  of  the  room  anniversary  of  the  University  of 
Berlin,  October  10  to  12,  1910. 

The  sixth  President  of  the  Academy,  Alexander  Agassiz  died 
on  March  27,  1910.  He  held  the  presidency  from  1901  to  1907, 
and  was  also  Foreign  Secretary  from  1891  to  1901.  Professor 
Mayer  remarked  of  him :  "  His  remarkable  energy  and  exec- 

105  For  the  full  plan  see  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1910,  pp.  16,  17. 
""Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1910,  p.  20. 


100  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

utive  ability  fitted  him  in  an  eminent  degree  to  be  the  leader  of 
scientific  expeditions.  Each  exploring  trip  was  planned  to  a 
day  even  to  its  minute  details,  every  course  charted,  distances 
measured  and  every  station  decided  upon,  before  he  left  his  desk 
in  the  Harvard  Museum,  so  that  all  of  its  achievements  were 
actually  prearranged.  ...  It  is  due  chiefly  to  his  forethought 
that  in  more  than  100,000  miles  of  wandering  over  tropical  seas 
he  never  met  with  a  serious  accident.  .  .  .  Among  scientific 
men  be  became  the  greatest  patron  of  zoology  our  country  has 
known.  In  1910,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  the  fifty-fourth  volume 
of  the  Bulletins,  and  the  fortieth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the 
Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  were  appearing.  These  pub- 
lications had  been  started  in  1863  and  1864,  and  in  the  number  of 
important  and  beautifully  illustrated  papers  they  contain  they 
have  been  excelled  by  only  a  few  of  the  most  active  scientific 
societies  of  the  world;  yet  the  expense  of  producing  them  has 
largely  been  borne  by  one  man — Alexander  Agassiz."  107  He 
bequeathed  the  sum  of  $50,000  "  for  the  general  use  of  the 
Academy."  108 

The  International  Union  for  Cooperation  in  Solar  Research 
in  which  the  Academy  is  represented  held  its  fourth  conference 
at  the  Mount  Wilson  Solar  Observatory  from  August  31  to 
September  2,  1910.  At  this  meeting,  which  was  attended  by  37 
delegates  from  foreign  countries  and  47  from  the  United  States, 
the  scope  of  the  Union  was  extended  to  include  all  branches  of 
astrophysics.  "  The  resolutions  adopted  called  for  the  continua- 
tion of  the  series  of  daily  photographs  of  the  calcium  flocculi 
with  spectroheliographs  used  by  cooperating  observatories  in 
various  parts  of  the  world;  the  addition  of  a  series  of  daily  pho- 
tographs of  the  hydrogen  flocculi;  the  inclusion  in  the  list  of 
cooperating  institutions  of  the  observatories  at  Tacubaya, 
Mexico,  and  Madrid,  Spain;  the  adoption  of  definite  inter- 
national standards  of  wave-lengths  of  the  second  order,  based 
on  interferometer  determinations  made  at  three  laboratories; 

107  Pop.  Sci.  Monthly,  November,  1910,  pp.  425,  430. 

108  This  sum  was  paid  into  the  treasury  on  February  i,  1911. 


ANNALS  OF  THE  ACADEMY  IOI 

the  use  of  barium  lines  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  5800,  where 
sharp  iron  lines  are  not  sufficiently  numerous  for  standards; 
the  extension  of  the  system  of  standards  of  the  second  order  to 
shorter  and  longer  wave-lengths;  the  measurement  of  standards 
of  the  third  order  by  concave  gratings  at  various  cooperating 
institutions;  the  use  of  the  name  International  Angstrom  (I.  A.) 
for  the  unit  on  which  the  system  of  standards  of  the  international 
system  is  based;  the  publications  of  the  report  of  the  sun-spot 
spectrum  committee  and  of  the  cooperating  observers  in  the 
next  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Solar  Union;  the  con- 
tinuation of  visual  observations  of  spot  spectra  in  accordance 
with  a  revised  and  extended  scheme;  the  preparation  of  a  gen- 
eral catalogue  of  the  lines  in  the  photographic  spectra  of  sun- 
spots;  the  preparation  of  a  new  photographic  map  of  the  sun- 
spot  spectrum  on  a  scale  of  5  mm.  to  the  Angstrom;  and  the 
general  adoption  of  the  plan  of  measuring  position  angles  around 
the  sun's  limb  from  the  north  to  the  east."  109  The  last  article  of 
the  tenth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  was  published  in  191 1. 

A  new  trust  fund  was  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Acad- 
emy in  1911  when  Sir  John  Murray  presented  the  sum  of  $6,000 
to  establish  a  gold  medal  to  be  known  as  the  "  Alexander  Agassiz 
Medal,"  and  to  be  awarded  "  to  scientific  men  in  any  part  of  the 
world  for  original  contributions  to  the  science  of  oceanography." 
The  following  year  the  Academy,  upon  recommendation  of  a 
special  committee,  accepted  a  design  for  the  medal  prepared  by 
Mr.  Theodore  Spicer-Simpson.110 

The  vertebrate  section  of  the  committee  on  paleontologic 
correlation  submitted  a  second  and  final  report  in  1912  from 
which  it  is  learned  that  with  the  aid  of  grants  from  the  Bache 
Fund,  amounting  to  $1,000,  it  had  prepared  and  published  three 
"  correlation  bulletins,"  entitled  respectively  "  Plan  and  Scope," 
"  Fossil  Vertebrates  of  Belgium,"  and  "  Patagonia  and  the 
Pampas  Cenozoic."  Lists  of  North  American  fossil  vertebrates 
were  also  prepared,  and  matter  relating  to  correlation  was  also 

109  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1912,  p.  14. 

110  Loc.  cit.,  p.  14. 


102  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

published  in  Professor  H.  F.  Osborn's  book  entitled  "  Age  of 
Mammals  "  and  an  article  by  him  entitled  "  Correlation  and 
Palaeogeography."  Upon  recommendation  the  section  of  the 
committee  was  discharged.111 

The  Academy  sent  Dr.  George  F.  Becker  as  its  delegate  to  the 
meeting  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  held  on  April 
1 8,  19  and  20,  1912.  At  the  2$oth  anniversary  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  London,  which  was  celebrated  on  July  16-18,  1912,  the 
Academy  had  as  its  delegate  Dr.  Arnold  Hague,  Home  Sec- 
retary. The  President  of  the  Academy  was  its  representative  at 
the  inauguration  of  President  Hibben  at  Princeton  University 
on  May  12,  1912. 

The  will  of  Morris  Loeb,  who  died  on  October  8,  1912,  con- 
tained the  following  item,  adding  to  the  trust  funds  of  the 
Academy:  "  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  in  Washington,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  sum 
of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  as  a  contribution  toward 
the  Wolcott  Gibbs  Fund,  founded  in  1892." 

111  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1912,  p.  13. 


CHAPTER  III 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  OF  THE  INCORPORATORS 

THE  tumultuous  days  of  a  great  war  would  hardly  seem 
a  propitious  time  for  the  formation  of  an  association  to 
promote  the  arts  of  peace.  Men  of  science,  like  men 
from  every  other  department  of  life,  were  engaged  directly  or 
indirectly  in  the  struggle,  and  it  seems  unlikely  that  any  of  them, 
and  especially  those  in  prominent  positions,  would  find  the 
leisure,  or  be  in  a  mood,  to  consider  the  qualifications  of  their 
confreres  for  membership  in  an  academy.  The  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  time  must  have  greatly  increased  the  difficulties 
of  this  delicate  task.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  exigencies 
of  the  day  account  for  the  large  number  of  men  connected  with 
the  military  and  naval  branches  of  the  Government  that  were 
included  among  the  incorporators.  This  may  be  true,  as  the 
founders  of  the  Academy  undoubtedly  had  the  idea  that  it  would 
be  a  help  to  the  Government,  but  a  more  just  view  is,  perhaps, 
that  so  many  men  of  high  scientific  attainments  were  connected 
with  the  Army  and  Navy  that  the  choice  naturally  lay  in  that 
direction. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  the  selection  of  incor- 
porators was  guided,  but  no  records  at  present  available  reveal 
the  facts.  A  clew  is,  perhaps,  to  be  found  by  a  study  of  the  mem- 
bership of  scientific  organizations  already  in  existence  when  the 
Academy  was  founded.  There  were  three  general  societies,  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  the  American  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences,  and  the  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science.  From  a  comparison  of  the  lists  of  those 
who  were  members  between  1860  and  1863*,  it  appears  that  from 
two-thirds  to  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  incorporators  of  the 

1The  meetings  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  were  sus- 
pended during  the  Civil  War. 

103 


104  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

National  Academy  were  connected  with  one  or  the  other  of 
these  societies,  and  that  of  the  whole  number  of  incorporators 
only  four  were  not  members  of  any  of  them.  It  would  seem 
almost  certain  that  the  little  group  of  men  that  guided  the 
Academy  movement  had  these  lists  before  them  when  engaged 
in  the  selection  of  incorporators.  Doubtless  there  were  good 
reasons  why  the  fifty  original  members,  or  some  of  them,  were  not 
notified  of  their  inclusion  in  the  list  in  advance  of  the  passage  of 
the  Act  of  Incorporation,  but  it  is  significant  that  only  two 
declined  membership,  or  resigned  in  the  months  immediately 
following  that  event. 

The  Academy  has  published  sketches  of  the  lives  of  nearly 
all  the  incorporators  in  the  series  known  as  the  Biographical 
Memoirs,  of  which  seven  volumes  have  been  issued.  It  has  not 
seemed  necessary  or  desirable  to  gather  the  same  information 
again  from  original  sources,  but  an  attempt  has  been  made  to 
summarize,  in  the  pages  which  follow,  the  principal  events  in 
the  lives  of  the  original  members.  The  matter  has  been  derived 
in  the  majority  of  cases  from  the  Biographical  Memoirs,  and  in 
each  instance  the  authority  is  cited. 

The  original  list  of  incorporators  as  it  appears  in  the  Act  of 
1863  is  as  follows: 

Louis  AGASSIZ,  Massachusetts.  J.  D.  DANA,  Connecticut. 

J.  H.  ALEXANDER,  Maryland.  CHARLES    H.    DAVIS,    United    States 

S.  ALEXANDER,  New  Jersey.  Navy,  Massachusetts. 

A.  D.  BACHE,  at  large.  GEORGE  ENGELMANN,  St.  Louis,  Mis- 

F.  A.  P.  BARNARD,  at  large.  souri. 

J.  G.  BARNARD,  United  States  Army,  J.  F.  FRAZER,  Pennsylvania. 

Massachusetts.  WOLCOTT  GIBBS,  New  York. 

W.  H.  C.  BARTLETT,   United   States  J.  M.  GILLISS,  United  States  Navy, 

Military  Academy,  Missouri.  Kentucky. 

U.  A.  BOYDEN,  Massachusetts.  A.  A.  GOULD,  Massachusetts. 

ALEXIS  CASWELL,  Rhode  Island.  B.  A.  GOULD,  Massachusetts. 

WILLIAM  CHAUVENET,  Missouri.  ASA  GRAY,  Massachusetts. 

J.  H.  C.  COFFIN,  United  States  Naval  ARNOLD  GUYOT,  New  Jersey. 

Academy,  Maine.  JAMES  HALL,  New  York. 

J.  A.  DAHLGREN,  United  States  Navy,  JOSEPH  HENRY,  at  large. 

Pennsylvania.  J.  E.  HILGARD,  at  large,  Illinois. 


THE   INCORPORATORS  105 

EDWARD  HITCHCOCK,  Massachusetts.  FAIRMAN  ROGERS,  Pennsylvania. 

J.  S.  HUBBARD,  United  States  Naval  R.  E.  ROGERS,  Pennsylvania. 

Observatory,  Connecticut.  W.  B.  ROGERS,  Massachusetts. 

A.    A.    HUMPHREYS,    United    States  L.  M.  RUTHERFURD,  New  York. 

Army,  Pennsylvania.  JOSEPH  SAXTON,  at  large. 

J.  L.  LE  CONTE,  United  States  Army,  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  Connecticut. 

Pennsylvania.  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  JR.,  Connec- 
J.  LEIDY,  Pennsylvania.  ticut. 

J.  P.  LESLEY,  Pennsylvania.  THEODORE  STRONG,  New  Jersey. 

M.  F.  LONGSTRETH,  Pennsylvania.  JOHN  TORREY,  New  York. 

D.  H.  MAHAN,  United  States  Mili-  J.  G.  TOTTEN,  United  States  Army, 

tary  Academy,  Virginia.  Connecticut. 

J.  S.  NEWBERRY,  Ohio.  JOSEPH  WINLOCK,  United  States  Nau- 
H.  A.  NEWTON,  Connecticut.  tical  Almanac,  Kentucky. 

BENJAMIN  PEIRCE,  Massachusetts.  JEFFRIES  WYMAN,  Massachusetts. 

JOHN  RODGERS,  United  States  Navy,  J.  D.  WHITNEY,  California. 

Indiana. 

LOUIS  AGASSIZ 
Born,  May  28,  1807;  died,  December  14,  1873 

Arnold  Guyot  remarked  of  Agassiz  in  1878 : 

"  Agassiz,  in  more  senses  than  one,  is  a  unique  figure  in  the  history  of  the 
scientific  progress  of  our  day.  In  Europe  he  already  occupied  among  men  of 
science  a  position  in  some  manner  exceptional,  I  may  say  privileged,  which  no 
other  scientific  man  of  equal  or  even  superior  merit  has  enjoyed.  In  this  country, 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  he  has  been  in  the  popular  mind,  more 
than  any  other  man,  the  representative  of  the  faithful,  unflinching  devotee  of 
natural  science. 

"  In  both  hemispheres  he  found  crowds  of  enthusiastic  admirers;  in  both  he 
became  the  center  of  a  marvelous  scientific  activity,  the  guide  of  numerous  fol- 
lowers in  the  investigation  of  the  mysteries  of  nature.  Such  facts  reveal  an 
individuality  of  uncommon  power  which  deserves  our  special  attention." 

Louis  Agassiz  was  born  at  Metier,  in  the  Swiss  Canton  ot 
Vaud,  on  May  28,  1807.  He  was  the  son  of  the  pastor  of  the 
village  church,  and  was  descended  from  French  Huguenots. 
His  father  accepted  a  call  to  the  town  of  Orbe,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Jura,  and  young  Agassiz's  boyhood  was  spent  among  those 
impressive  surroundings,  which  doubtless  first  served  to  arouse 
in  him  an  interest  in  the  study  of  nature.  He  returned  hither  in 


106  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

later  years  to  verify  his  geological  deductions  and  to  find  mate- 
rials for  his  work  on  echinoderms. 

At  the  age  of  n,  Agassiz  engaged  in  classical  studies  at  the 
College  of  Bienne,  and  afterwards  was  a  student  for  two  years 
at  the  Academy  of  Lausanne.  In  1824  he  entered  the  Medical 
School  of  Zurich  where  two  additional  years  were  spent.  Hav- 
ing been  encouraged  in  his  natural  history  studies  by  the 
zoologist  Schinz,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time  he  left 
Zurich  and  entered  the  University  of  Heidelberg,  where  he 
studied  physiology  and  anatomy  under  Tiedeman,  zoology  under 
Leuckart,  and  botany  under  Bischoff.  At  this  time  Alexander 
Braun  was  studying  at  Heidelberg,  and  an  intimate  friendship 
was  formed  between  the  two  young  men,  Braun  inviting  Agassiz 
to  his  home  during  the  summer  vacations.  To  this  charming 
home,  most  delightfully  situated  at  Carlsruhe,  many  naturalists 
and  other  men  of  learning  were  attracted,  and  by  the  intimate 
intercourse  with  those  who  like  himself  were  engaged  in  the 
study  of  nature,  and  by  comparison  of  investigations  made, 
Agassiz  broadened  his  own  views,  and  laid  the  foundations  for 
his  future  work.  With  Braun  and  Schimper,  Agassiz  spent  the 
years  from  1827  to  1830  at  the  University  of  Munich,  continuing 
his  medical  studies  and  mainly  occupied  with  zoological  investi- 
gations. These  three  men  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  company  of 
young  scientists  who  organized  a  society  called  the  "  Little 
Academy  of  Sciences,"  where  each  gave  lectures  on  his  favorite 
topic.  In  these  years  were  finished  those  preliminary  studies 
which  formed  the  basis  of  his  life  work.  With  Oken  he  dis- 
cussed classification;  with  Dollinger,  embryology;  Von  Martius 
instructed  him  in  the  geographical  distribution  of  plants;  and 
Schelling  in  philosophy.  He  published  his  first  work  at  this 
time  and  prepared  two  others.  Owing  to  the  death  of  Spix, 
Agassiz  was  chosen  by  Von  Martius,  the  Brazilian  explorer, 
to  describe  the  fishes  collected  during  his  expedition.  So  well 
was  this  done  by  Agassiz,  then  but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  that  it 
gave  him  rank  among  the  best  naturalists  of  the  time. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  107 

Previous  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  work,  Agassiz  had 
taken  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  at  the  University  of 
Erlangen  in  1829,  and  Doctor  of  Medicine  at  Munich  in  1830. 
While  continuing  his  preparations  for  the  publication  of  a 
natural  history  of  the  fresh-water  fishes  of  Europe  and  a  treatise 
on  fossil  fishes,  Agassiz  visited  Vienna  and  Paris,  where  he 
examined  the  collections  in  the  museums,  and  received  help  from 
various  sources,  as  well  as  offers  of  attractive  positions.  He 
became  acquainted  with  Fitzinger  in  Vienna  and  in  Paris 
Humboldt  introduced  him  to  Cuvier,  who  generously  placed  in 
his  hands  the  whole  of  the  material  which  he  himself  had  in- 
tended to  use  as  the  basis  of  a  work  on  fossil  fishes.  By  the  advice 
of  Humboldt,  Agassiz  refused  the  various  offers  of  positions 
that  were  made  to  him,  but  at  last  in  the  autumn  of  1832  was 
appointed  to  the  recently-established  chair  of  natural  history 
in  the  College  of  Neuchatel,  where  for  14  years  he  labored 
assiduously  and  published  extensively.  His  "  Recherches  sur 
les  Poissons  Fossiles,"  and  his  "  Systeme  Glaciaire,"  "  those  of 
his  works  which  have  made  the  deepest  impress  on  progressing 
science,"  were  written  during  this  period.  Always  enthusiastic, 
he  carried  out  his  ideals  in  the  publication  of  his  books,  and 
though  often  in  pecuniary  difficulties,  aid  came  to  him  from 
many  sources  on  account  of  his  reputation  for  accurate  scholar- 
ship and  faithful  devotion  to  research. 

Other  important  works  published  by  Agassiz  while  at  Neu- 
chatel were  a  prodromus  of  the  echinoderms  and  a  treatise  on  the 
fossil  echinoderms  of  Switzerland,  Critical  studies  of  fossil 
Mollusks,  "  Iconography  of  the  tertiary  shells  believed  to  be 
identical  with  living  ones,"  the  "  Nomenclator  Zoologicus,"  and 
the  "  Bibliotheca  Zoologica  et  Geologica." 

In  1836  Agassiz's  attention  was  directed  to  the  subject  of 
glaciers  by  his  friend  Jean  de  Charpentier,  and  he  spent  some 
months  with  him  at  Bex,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone.  As  a 
result  of  his  studies  and  reflections,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  an 
universal  glacial  epoch  at  the  end  of  the  Tertiary  Age.  He  pre- 
sented this  before  the  Helvetic  Society  of  Natural  Science  at 


I08  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Neuchatel  in  1837  and  produced  a  sensation  throughout  the  scien- 
tific world.  It  was  combated  and  ridiculed,  but  in  course  of  time 
it  has  found  universal  acceptance,  though  in  a  modified  form. 
Agassiz  never  lost  interest  in  the  subject,  and  made  extensive 
and  important  contributions  to  it  in  later  years.  He  intended 
to  publish  a  comprehensive  work  on  the  results  obtained  through 
the  researches  of  himself  and  his  associates,  but  the  enterprise 
was  frustrated  by  the  revolution  of  1848,  after  the  publication 
of  the  first  volume.  "  If  to  Venetz  and  Charpentier  belongs 
the  honor  of  having  first  proved  the  transportation  of  the  Swiss 
erratic  boulders  by  the  agency  of  ice,  and  the  existence  o<f 
great  glaciers  formerly  extending  to  the  Jura,  to  Agassiz  we 
must  award  the  merit  of  having  given  to  these  facts  their  full 
geological  significance,  of  having  brought  them  before  the 
world  at  large  and  having  made  the  glacial  question,  as  it  were, 
the  order  of  the  day."  (Guyot.) 

Important  as  were  these  glacial  researches  of  Agassiz,  his 
friend  Humboldt  thought  it  unfortunate  that  he  should  be 
diverted  from  natural  history  investigations,  and  on  that  account 
induced  the  King  of  Prussia  to  send  him  on  a  scientific  mission 
for  the  comparison  of  the  faunas  of  temperate  Europe  and 
America.  At  the  same  time  Agassiz  received  an  invitation  to 
lecture  before  the  Lowell  Institute  in  Boston.  He  came  to 
America  in  1846,  and,  as  is  well  known,  made  an  extraordinary 
impression  in  scientific  circles  and  on  the  public  at  large.  "  Be- 
fore him  America  had  had  many  able  representatives  of  the 
science  of  nature,  fully  appreciated  abroad,  but  too  much 
ignored  by  the  mass  of  the  people  at  home,  who  had  not  yet 
espoused  the  cause.  Sympathy  and  efficient  aid  had  been  want- 
ing. The  stirring  appeals  of  Agassiz  were  heard  and  the  nation 
nobly  responded."  (Guyot.) 

Professor  Bache,  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey,  gave 
him  opportunities  for  investigations  of  marine  life  on  the 
Atlantic  Coast  and  among  the  Florida  Reefs.  Means  were 
found  for  an  expedition  to  Brazil  and  the  Amazon,  and  for  the 
publication  of  his  "  Contributions  to  the  Natural  History  of  the 


THE  INCORPORATORS  109 

United  States,"  for  the  establishment  of  a  biological  laboratory 
and  school  on  Penikese  Island,  and  many  other  enterprises. 
Greatest  of  all  was  the  organization  of  the  Scientific  School 
and  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard.  In  the 
latter,  Agassiz's  ideas  on  zoology  were  embodied  in  concrete  form 
in  the  zoological,  geographical,  and  embryological  series  which 
were  there  displayed.  "  By  his  large  contributions  to  Science  in 
America,  by  his  power  of  developing  a  true  scientific  spirit,  to 
excite  and  popularize  the  taste  for  scientific  researches,  by  his  vast 
influence  on  the  American  mind,  and  his  universal  popularity, 
which  he  kept  to  the  very  last,  Agassiz  had  become  emphatically 
a  national  man."  (Guyot.)  He  died  on  December  14,  1873. 

It  was  probably  Agassiz  who  induced  Senator  Wilson  to 
introduce  and  urge  the  bill  incorporating  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  and  when  established  he  became  its  first  Foreign 
Secretary. 

(From  ARNOLD  GUYOT,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  2,  1 886,  pp.  39-73.  See  also  ELIZABETH  C.  AGASSIZ,  "Louis 
Agassiz;  His  Life  and  Correspondence,"  Boston,  1893;  JULES  MARCOU,  "Life 
and  Letters  of  Louis  Agassiz,"  Boston,  1895.) 

JOHN  H.  ALEXANDER 
Born,  June  26,  1812;  died,  March  2,  1867 

Dr.  Alexander  was  a  man  of  remarkable  versatility.  A 
mathematician  and  a  physicist,  he  was  also  a  linguist  and  a 
poet.  He  was  a  successful  man  of  affairs  and  a  deeply-read 
student  of  theology  and  church  history.  His  father,  who  be- 
longed to  a  Scotch-Irish  family,  came  to  America  before  the 
Revolution  and  settled  at  Annapolis,  Maryland.  Here  John  H. 
Alexander  was  born  in  1812.  He  was  graduated  from  St.  John's 
College  in  his  native  town  when  fourteen  years  old  and  entered 
upon  the  study  of  law.  His  attention  being  attracted,  however, 
to  the  great  possibilities  of  steam  transportation  and  the  utiliza- 
tion of  the  natural  resources  in  iron  and  coal,  he  turned  his 
energies  in  the  direction  of  practical  pursuits.  He  was  at  first 
connected  with  surveys  for  the  Susquehanna  Railroad  (now 


110  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

part  of  the  Northern  Central  Railroad)  and  soon  afterward 
became  interested  in  a  topographical  and  geological  survey  of 
Maryland.  In  association  with  Professor  Julius  T.  Ducatel, 
he  prepared  a  plan  for  these  surveys  and  in  1834  was  appointed 
Topographical  Engineer  by  the  Maryland  Legislature,  Pro- 
fessor Ducatel  at  the  same  time  becoming  State  Geologist.  As 
the  result  of  a  trigonometrical  reconnoissance,  Alexander  was  en- 
abled within  four  years  to  construct  a  map  of  the  State  on  which 
geological  data  could  be  plotted,  and  was  contemplating  the 
preparation  of  a  more  accurate  map,  through  the  cooperation  of 
the  United  States  Coast  Survey,  when  the  Legislature  withdrew 
its  support  from  reasons  of  economy  and  the  work  was  left  in- 
complete. 

Alexander  in  the  meantime  formed  the  George's  Creek  Coal 
and  Iron  Company  and  served  as  president  of  that  organization 
from  1836  to  1845.  In  1839  he  visited  Europe  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  funds  for  the  support  of  the  enterprise.  In  1840 
he  published  a  work  entitled  "  Contributions  to  a  History  of 
the  Metallurgy  of  Iron"  which  was  followed  in  1842  by  a 
supplement,  and  constituted  a  "  complete  treatise  on  the  subject 
up  to  his  day."  (Hilgard.) 

To  meet  the  needs  of  surveyors  and  engineers  he  then  pre- 
pared a  copiously  annotated  edition  of  "  Simms'  Treatise  on 
Mathematical  Instruments  used  in  Surveying,  Leveling,  and 
Astronomy." 

After  the  copies  of  the  United  States  standards  of  weight 
and  measure,  which  had  been  authorized  by  Congress  for  the  use 
of  the  several  States,  had  been  completed,  Dr.  Alexander  induced 
the  Maryland  Legislature  to  provide  similar  copies  for  the 
counties  of  that  State,  and  was  in  turn  charged  with  their  con- 
struction and  verification.  In  that  connection,  he  prepared  a  com- 
prehensive report  "  On  the  Standards  of  Weight  and  Measure 
for  the  State  of  Maryland,"  which  included  an  account  of  the 
origin  of  Anglo-Saxon  measures,  and  a  resume  of  legislation  in 
England  and  the  United  States. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  III 

In  1850  Dr.  Alexander  published  a  "  Universal  Dictionary  of 
Weights  and  Measures,  Ancient  and  Modern  "  which  was  "  one 
of  the  most  complete  and  exact  works  of  the  kind  ever  pub- 
lished." (Hilgard.) 

In  1855  he  issued  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  International  Coinage 
for  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,"  in  which  he  explained 
his  plan  for  equalizing  the  pound  sterling  and  the  half-eagle. 
He  went  to  Europe  in  1857  as  the  representative  of  the  United 
States  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  arrangements  for  the  unifica- 
tion of  coinage,  but  his  labors  were  unsuccessful,  owing,  as  he 
believed,  to  the  opposition  of  the  bankers. 

At  the  request  of  the  Lighthouse  Board,  Dr.  Alexander  re- 
ported on  Babbage's  numerical  system  of  lighthouses,  on  steam 
whistles  as  fog  signals,  and  on  illuminating  oils. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he  tendered  his  services  to 
the  Government  and  was  appointed  an  engineer  officer,  in  which 
capacity  he  aided  in  planning  and  constructing  the  defences  of 
Baltimore.  He  also  contributed  largely  from  his  own  means 
for  organizing  and  equipping  a  field  battery  of  which  his  eldest 
son  became  the  commander.  He  was  about  to  be  appointed 
Director  of  the  Mint  in  Philadelphia  in  1867,  when  he  was 
attacked  by  pneumonia  and  died  in  his  55th  year. 

Dr.  Alexander's  published  works  include,  besides  books  and 
pamphlets  on  scientific  subjects  (the  more  important  of  which 
have  been  mentioned  above),  two  volumes  of  religious  poems; 
and  he  also  left  behind  a  considerable  number  of  manuscripts, 
among  which  was  "  a  Dictionary  of  English  Surnames  "  in  12 
volumes,  and  "  a  Dictionary  of  the  Language  of  the  Lenni- 
Lenape,  or  Delaware  Indians." 

(From  J.  E.  HILGARD,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  213-226.  See  also  WM.  PINKNEY,  "  Memoir  of  John 
H.  Alexander,"  Maryland  Historical  Society,  1867.  8°.  Pp.  31.) 


112  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

STEPHEN  ALEXANDER 

Born,  September  i,  1806;  died,  June  25,  1883 

Stephen  Alexander  was  born  in  Schenectady,  New  York, 
and  resided  there  until  after  his  graduation  from  college.  His 
father,  Alexander  Alexander,  was  a  successful  business  man  in 
Schenectady.  He  died  when  in  middle  life,  but  left  his  widow 
and  two  young  children  with  sufficient  means  to  live  in  comfort. 
Stephen  was  graduated  from  Union  College  in  1824,  with  high 
honors,  and  immediately  after  began  teaching.  He  first  taught 
in  the  Academy  at  Chittenango,  New  York,  and  later  was 
probably  connected  for  some  time  with  the  Academy  in  Albany. 
In  1832  he  went  to  Princeton  with  Joseph  Henry,  who  became 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  there  in  that  year.  Henry  was 
Stephen  Alexander's  first  cousin  and,  some  years  later,  he 
married  Harriet  Alexander,  Stephen's  younger  sister,  thus  mak- 
ing a  double  relationship,  which  doubtless  influenced  Alex- 
ander's life  and  fortunes  to  a  considerable  extent.  Alexander's 
first  idea  in  going  to  Princeton  to  study  was  to  prepare  himself 
for  the  ministry  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  in  1833  he  was 
appointed  to  a  tutorship  in  the  college,  and  thus  began  his  forty- 
three  years'  service  as  a  member  of  the  faculty.  In  1834,  he  was 
made  Adjunct  Professor  of  Mathematics,  and  in  1840  Professor 
of  Astronomy,  which  position  he  held  until  1876,  when  he  retired 
as  professor  emeritus. 

In  1831  Alexander  went  to  Maryland  to  observe  the  annular 
eclipse  of  February  12,  and  ever  after  that  time  he  was  intensely 
interested  in  such  phenomena,  never  missing  an  opportunity  to 
make  similar  observations.  Between  1831  and  1875,  he  observed 
many  annular  eclipses,  and  several  total  eclipses.  He  journeyed 
from  Georgia  to  Labrador  to  view  eclipses  which  occurred  at 
different  dates,  making  many  observations  which  he  published 
later  in  a  paper  entitled  "  Physical  Phenomena  Attendant  upon 
Solar  Eclipses."  He  was  not,  however,  a  prolific  writer.  In 
fact,  so  much  of  his  time  was  taken  up  with  the  duties  of  his 
professorship,  that  not  a  great  deal  was  left  for  writing  and 


THE  INCORPORATORS  113 

research.  He  lectured  almost  entirely  from  notes,  which,  as 
a  rule,  were  not  afterwards  elaborated  for  the  press.  His  best 
and  most  important  works,  in  addition  to  the  paper  mentioned 
above  are,  "  The  Fundamental  Principles  of  Mathematics " ; 
"  The  Origin  of  the  Forms  and  the  Present  Condition  of  the 
Clusters  of  Stars  and  Several  of  the  Nebulae,"  and  "  Certain 
Harmonies  of  the  Solar  System."  American  astronomy  owes 
much  to  the  diligence  with  which  he  pursued  his  study  of  that 
branch  of  science  and  to  his  long-continued  efforts  in  the  train- 
ing of  youth. 

Stephen  Alexander  had  a  scholarly  interest  in  a  great  variety 
of  subjects.  He  was  a  linguist  of  more  than  common  attainments 
and  was  well  versed  and  deeply  interested  in  literature,  history, 
philosophy,  theology,  mathematics,  and  several  other  branches 
of  learning.  He  also  wrote  very  good  poetry.  He  died  in  1883. 

(From  C.  A.  YOUNG,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  2,  1886,  pp.  249-259.) 

ALEXANDER  DALLAS  BACHE 
Born,  July  19,  1806;  died,  February  17,  1867 

Professor  Bache  was  in  every  way  a  remarkable  man.  His 
scholarship  was  without  a  flaw,  he  had  a  deep  sense  of  responsi- 
bility, and  he  possessed  to  an  extraordinary  degree  that  rare 
power  of  influencing  his  fellowmen,  beating  down  their  opposi- 
tion and  molding  them  to  his  wishes,  whereby  he  was  enabled 
to  carry  out  the  plans  which  he  conceived  for  the  promotion  of 
the  welfare  of  mankind.  He  was  a  great-grandson  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  and  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on  July  19,  1806.  His 
mental  abilities  were  conspicuous  even  when  he  was  in  the  lower 
schools.  At  the  early  age  of  15  years  he  entered  the  U.  S. 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point  as  a  cadet,  and  was  graduated 
in  1825  at  the  head  of  his  class  of  which  he  was  the  youngest 
member.  He  was  immediately  appointed  an  assistant  professor 
and  afforded  opportunities  to  extend  his  studies.  At  the  end  of 
a  year  he  was  at  his  own  request  detailed  to  assist  Colonel  Totten 
who  was  then  engaged  in  the  construction  of  Fort  Adams  at 


114  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Newport.  In  1828  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Natural 
Philosophy  and  Chemistry  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
and  soon  afterwards  joined  the  then  newly-founded  Franklin 
Institute  where  he  enjoyed  association  with  the  principal 
engineers  and  artisans  of  Philadelphia.  He  engaged  in  original 
researches  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  activities  of  the 
Institute,  and  after  a  few  years  became  the  director  of  its  scien- 
tific investigations.  One  of  his  most  important  labors  at  that 
time  was  an  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  bursting  of  steam 
boilers.  It  soon  came  to  the  attention  of  the  Government  which 
made  an  appropriation  for  the  expenses  involved.  "  The  con- 
clusions arrived  at  were  embodied  in  a  series  of  propositions, 
which,  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  thirty  years,  have  not  been 
superseded  by  any  others  of  more  practical  value."  (Henry.)  At 
this  time  Bache  was  also  a  member  of  the  American  Philosoph- 
ical Society  and  in  association  with  Espy,  Hare,  Frazer  and 
others  spent  much  time  and  thought  in  investigations  relating 
to  meteorology  and  terrestrial  magnetism.  To  the  latter  subject 
he  continued  to  make  contributions  throughout  his  life. 

In  1836  Professor  Bache  was  prevailed  upon  to  undertake 
the  organization  of  Girard  College  for  Orphans,  then  recently 
established  in  Philadelphia.  He  spent  two  years  in  Europe  in 
its  behalf,  upon  the  study  of  the  educational  systems  of  France, 
Prussia,  Austria  and  other  countries,  and  his  report,  which  was 
published  in  1839,  did  "more,  perhaps,  to  improve  the  theory 
and  art  of  education  in  this  country  than  any  other  work  ever 
published." 

A  delay  having  occurred  in  the  opening  of  Girard  College, 
Bache  undertook  the  reorganization  of  the  public  schools  of 
Philadelphia  and  caused  them  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  model 
for  the  entire  system  of  the  United  States. 

In  1842,  finding  that  the  affairs  of  Girard  College  remained 
stationary,  he  returned  to  his  professorship  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  but  the  following  year,  on  the  death  of  Hassler, 
he  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey,  for  which 
station  his  qualities  and  his  training  seemed  especially  to  fit 


THE  INCORPORATORS  1 15 

him.  He  found  it  when  its  operations  had  extended  only  from 
Point  Judith  to  Cape  Henlopen,  and  when  he  died  twenty-five 
years  later  its  work  had  extended  from  Maine  to  Texas  and 
throughout  the  Pacific  Coast.  When  asked  by  members  of  Con- 
gress "  When  will  this  survey  be  completed?  "  he  replied  "  When 
will  you  cease  annexing  territory?  "  At  the  beginning  of  his 
administration  the  work  of  the  Coast  Survey  was  not  very 
thoroughly  appreciated,  but  by  his  talents,  and  his  industry  he 
made  it  one  of  the  strongest  of  the  scientific  bureaus  of  the 
Government  During  the  Civil  War  when  the  regular  opera- 
tions of  the  Survey  were  necessarily  suspended,  it  gave  important 
aid  to  the  Government  from  the  knowledge  which  as  an  organi- 
zation it  possessed  regarding  the  coasts  and  harbors  of  the 
country. 

In  1846  Professor  Bache  was  named  as  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  act  of  incor- 
poration, and  it  was  entirely  owing  to  his  influence  that  Joseph 
Henry  was  persuaded  to  become  the  Secretary  of  the  Institution. 
He  supported  Henry  in  his  program  of  organization,  through 
the  operations  of  which  the  Institution  has  attained  its  unique 
place  among  the  scientific  establishments  of  America. 

Bache  was  also  Superintendent  of  Weights  and  Measures  of 
the  United  States,  and  a  member  of  the  Lighthouse  Board,  as 
well  as  of  the  commission  of  inquiry  which  preceded  it. 

During  the  Civil  War  Bache  served  as  Vice-President  of  the 
U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission,  and  also  planned  the  defences  of 
his  native  city,  Philadelphia.  He  died  at  Newport  on  February 
17,  1867,  and  was  buried  in  the  Congressional  Cemetery  in 
Washington  where  an  imposing  tomb  was  erected  by  the 
officers  of  the  Coast  Survey  as  a  tribute  to  his  memory. 

Professor  Bache  was  a  leading  mind  in  the  formation  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  if  not  its  original  projector. 
It  was  at  his  house  that  the  plans  for  the  Academy  were  formu- 
lated, and  doubtless  his  sagacity  and  his  knowledge  of  the  con- 
duct of  affairs  at  Washington,  which  was  probably  greater  than 
that  of  any  other  man  of  his  time,  formed  a  very  important 
factor  in  their  success. 


Il6  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

He  was  elected  first  President  of  the  Academy  and  served  in 
that  capacity  from  the  date  of  its  organization  until  his  death 
in  1867.  He  was  also  a  member  of  many  important  committees 
appointed  on  behalf  of  the  Government,  notably  those  on 
weights,  measures  and  coinage,  and  on  the  collection  of  excise 
duties  on  distilled  spirits. 

(From  JOSEPH  HENRY,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  181-212^.  See  also  B.  A  GOULD,  "Address  in  com- 
memoration of  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,"  Proc.  Amer.  Assoc.  Adv.  Sci.,  vol.  17, 
1869,  pp.  1-56.) 

FREDERICK  AUGUSTUS  PORTER  BARNARD 
Born,  May  5,  1809;  died,  April  27,  1889 

President  Barnard,  brother  of  General  John  G.  Barnard,  was 
born  at  Sheffield,  Massachusetts,  May  5,  1809.  He  began  the 
study  of  Latin  at  an  early  age,  but  later  turned  his  attention  from 
the  classics  to  mathematics  and  allied  branches  of  science.  After 
his  graduation  at  Yale  in  1828,  he  became  a  teacher  in  the 
Hartford  Grammar  School  and  afterwards  a  tutor  at  Yale. 
In  1831  he  was  engaged  as  a  teacher  in  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Asylum  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  subsequently  taught  at 
the  New  York  Institution  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb. 

In  1837  he  was  connected  with  the  University  of  Alabama  in 
the  capacity  of  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Mathe- 
matics for  eleven  years,  and  afterwards  as  Professor  of  Chemistry 
until  1854.  During  his  connection  with  the  University,  Pro- 
fessor Barnard  built  an  astronomical  observatory  for  the  insti- 
tution. During  this  time  he  served  as  a  member  of  a  com- 
mission to  settle  a  dispute  concerning  the  boundary  between 
Alabama  and  Florida.  From  1854  to  1861  he  was  Professor 
of  Mathematics  and  Astronomy  in  the  University  of  Mississippi, 
was  its  president  from  1856  to  1858,  and  chancellor  from  the 
latter  year  until  1861.  The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  caused 
him  to  leave  the  South,  and  he  then  became  director  of  printing 
and  lithography  in  connection  with  the  map  and  chart  depart- 
ment of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  llj 

In  1864  he  was  elected  President  of  Columbia  College 
and  remained  in  that  office  until  1888  when  ill  health  neces- 
sitated his  retirement.  During  his  administration  he  made  many 
changes  and  improvements  in  the  methods  of  instruction  and  the 
management  of  the  University,  and  was  also  instrumental  in 
adding  the  Law  School,  the  School  of  Mines,  the  School  of 
Political  Science,  and  the  Library  of  Economics.  Barnard 
College  for  women,  which  was  named  for  him,  was  established 
through  his  influence.  In  1865  Dr.  Barnard  was  president  of 
the  board  of  experts  in  the  American  Bureau  of  Mines  and  in 
1867  served  as  a  commissioner  to  the  Paris  Exposition.  He  pub- 
lished a  report  on  machinery  and  industrial  arts  in  1868. 

He  was  a  man  of  wide  learning  but  among  the  sciences  his 
principal  interest  was  in  mathematics.  Among  his  published 
works  are  a  "  Treatise  on  Arithmetic,"  "  Analytic  Grammar  with 
Symbolic  Illustrations,"  "  Recent  Progress  of  Science,"  the 
"  Metric  System  of  Weights  and  Measures,"  "  Letters  on  College 
Government,"  and  "  History  of  the  American  Coast  Survey." 

In  1860  Professor  Barnard  was  one  of  the  party  of  astron- 
omers who  observed  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  Labrador,  and  in 
1862  he  worked  on  Gilliss'  observations  of  the  stars  of  the 
Southern  Hemisphere.  He  was  President  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in  1860,  of  the  Amer- 
ican Institute  in  1872,  and  of  the  American  Metrological  Society. 

His  death  occurred  in  New  York,  April  27,  1889.  He 
bequeathed  his  estate  to  Columbia  University  with  which  he 
had  been  so  long  connected. 

JOHN  GROSS  BARNARD 
Born,  May  19,  1815;  died,  May  14,  1882 

John  Gross  Barnard,  born  in  Sheffield,  Massachusetts,  May 
19,  1815,  was  descended  on  both  sides  from  New  England 
ancestors.  He  obtained  his  early  education  in  the  village  school 
and  from  his  uncle,  who  was  a  teacher  at  Hartford,  Connecticut. 
When  14  years  old,  an  opportunity  was  offered  him  by  General 
Porter  to  enter  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  at  West  Point. 


Il8  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Entering  the  Academy  in  1829,  probably  the  youngest  pupil 
ever  admitted  there,  Barnard  was  graduated  second  in  a  class 
of  43.  Passing  from  brevet  second  lieutenant  through  all  the 
grades,  he  became  colonel  on  December  28,  1865,  and  later 
major-general  in  both  the  regular  army  and  the  volunteers. 

As  a  civil  engineer  General  Barnard's  activities  extended 
over  all  the  United  States,  and  also  included  surveys  around 
the  city  of  Mexico  and  on  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec.  Twice 
he  was  sent  to  Europe  to  collect  information  desired  by  the 
Government.  During  the  Civil  War,  General  Barnard  took 
an  active  part  in  many  battles,  but  his  most  important  work  was 
as  chief  engineer  of  the  defences  of  Washington,  where  he 
built  field-works  which,  while  having  some  elements  of  perma- 
nency, did  not  require  so  long  a  time  for  construction  as  to 
defeat  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  erected,  and  were  of 
great  value  to  the  Government  in  more  than  one  emergency. 
At  the  close  of  the  war,  General  Barnard  became  president  of 
the  permanent  Board  of  Engineers  for  Fortifications  and  River 
and  Harbor  Improvements.  This  position  he  held  until  his 
retirement  in  January,  1 88 1.  The  increased  size  of  heavy  guns 
and  the  advances  in  naval  construction  having  rendered  the  coast 
defences  inadequate,  a  series  of  new  experiments  in  fortification 
was  commenced  at  Fortress  Monroe  and  Fort  Delaware  by  the 
engineer  department.  General  Barnard,  with  a  corps  of 
assistants,  visited  Europe  and  by  the  study  of  the  latest  develop- 
ments in  the  art  was  enabled  to  make  most  satisfactory  recom- 
mendations to  the  board  of  which  he  was  so  long  the  president. 

His  writings  on  technical  engineering  were  numerous.  He 
wrote  also  on  mathematical  and  other  subjects,  and  was  one  of  the 
associate  editors  of  Johnson's  Universal  Cyclopedia,  to  which 
he  contributed  more  than  90  articles.  General  Barnard  had  many 
intellectual  interests  besides  his  profession,  among  them  a  fond- 
ness for  music.  He  was  the  author  of  a  number  of  compositions, 
including  a  Te  Deum.  His  death  occurred  on  May  14,  1882,  at 
Detroit,  Michigan. 

(From  HENRY  L.  ABBOT,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  5,  1905,  pp.  219-229.) 


THE  INCORPORATORS  119 

WILLIAM  HOLMES  CHAMBERS  BARTLETT 
Born,  1809;  died,  February  u,  1893 

Professor  Bartlett  was  distinguished  both  as  a  soldier  and  as 
a  man  of  science.  He  was  born  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1809,  and  early  in  life  moved  to  Missouri.  He  was 
appointed  to  West  Point  from  that  State,  graduated  in  1826 
at  the  head  of  his  class  and  became  second  lieutenant  of 
engineers.  From  1827  to  1829  he  was  assistant  professor  in 
the  Military  Academy,  and  Acting  Professor  of  Natural  and 
Experimental  Philosophy  from  1834  to  1836.  In  the  inter- 
vening years,  from  1829  to  1832,  he  was  engaged  in  construction 
work  at  Fortress  Monroe  and  at  Fort  Adams,  and  from  1832  to 
1834  was  assistant  engineer  at  Washington,  D.  C.  Resigning 
his  lieutenancy,  he  returned  to  West  Point  in  1836  and  was 
appointed  to  the  professorship  of  natural  and  experimental 
philosophy  which  he  had  held  as  an  acting  officer  in  previous 
years.  In  this  position  he  remained  until  1871.  In  that  year, 
at  his  own  request,  he  was  retired,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  and 
became  actuary  for  the  New  York  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany. 

During  the  year  1840,  Professor  Bartlett  went  abroad  to 
purchase  instruments  for  observations  at  West  Point  and 
travelled  extensively,  visiting  the  principal  observatories  of  the 
world.  He  made  numerous  contributions  to  the  American 
Journal  of  Science,  and  also  wrote  a  treatise  on  rifled  guns 
which  was  published  in  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences.  Among  his  other  writings  are  a  "  Treatise  on  Optics  " ; 
"  Synthetical  Mechanics,"  in  which  are  some  original  problems; 
"  Acoustics  and  Optics  " ;  "Analytical  Mechanics" ;  and  "  Spher- 
ical Astronomy."  He  also  wrote  a  textbook  for  military  cadets, 
which  is  still  used  in  colleges. 

He  died  at  Yonkers,  New  York,  February  1 1,  1893. 

(See  EDWARD  S.  HOLDEN,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  7,  1912,  pp.  171-193.) 


120  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

ALEXIS  CASWELL 
Born,  January  29,  1799;  died,  January  8,  1877 

Alexis  Caswell,  who  was  descended  from  early  settlers  of 
New  England  and  traced  his  pedigree  back  to  Peregrine  White, 
was  born  at  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  January  29,  1799.  His 
childhood  was  spent  on  a  farm,  and  when  he  arrived  at  the  proper 
age  was  prepared  for  college  at  Bristol  Academy  in  Taunton. 
He  entered  Brown  University  at  the  age  of  19  and  was  graduated 
in  1822,  with  first  honors.  For  five  years  he  was  a  tutor  or  pro- 
fessor in  Columbian  College,  Washington,  at  the  same  time 
pursuing  studies  in  theology  under  the  guidance  of  the  Presi- 
dent, Dr.  Staughton.  After  preaching  a  year  in  Halifax,  he 
became  assistant  to  the  Rev.  S.  Gano,  at  the  First  Baptist  Church 
in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  but  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks 
he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy  in  Brown  University.  Except  for  a  year  spent  in 
Europe,  Professor  Caswell  performed  the  duties  of  this  position 
for  35  years,  adding  to  them  those  of  the  President,  when  Dr. 
Wayland's  absence  or  indisposition  necessitated  a  substitute. 
Resigning  his  professorship  in  1863,  he  spent  five  years  in 
pursuing  his  favorite  studies,  and  was  then  called  to  the  pres- 
idency of  Brown  University,  and  retained  that  office  until  1872. 
A  little  later,  Dr.  Caswell  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  University  and  in  1875  became  a  fellow  in  the 
corporation.  The  University  had  previously  conferred  on  him 
the  degrees  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  and  Doctor  of  Laws.  For 
nearly  50  years  he  was  closely  associated  with  his  Alma  Mater, 
and  his  life  work  was  that  of  an  educator. 

His  greatest  interest  as  a  scientific  investigator  was  in 
meteorology  and  astronomy.  For  28J  years,  with  few  interrup- 
tions, he  made  a  regular  series  of  meteorological  observations  at 
College  Hill  in  Providence,  the  results  of  which  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge.  Adding 
later  observations,  a  period  of  45  years  was  covered.  In  1858 
Dr.  Caswell  delivered  four  lectures  on  astronomy  at  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  in  Washington.  He  joined  the  American 


THE  INCORPORATORS  121 

Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in  1850,  and  was 
twice  elected  President. 

Dr.  Caswell  was  an  eminent  speaker,  a  convincing  writer, 
and  a  good  citizen,  taking  an  active  part  in  all  the  interests  of 
his  city,  his  state  and  his  country.  He  published  a  number  of 
scientific  papers,  besides  essays,  biographical  sketches,  and 
sermons.  His  death  occurred  on  January  8,  1877,  at  Providence, 
Rhode  Island. 

(From  JOSEPH  LOVERING,  In  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  6,  1909,  pp.  363-372.) 

WILLIAM  CHAUVENET 

Born,  May  24,  1820;  died,  December  13,  1870 

William  Chauvenet's  father,  William  Marc  Chauvenet  was 
born  in  Narbonne,  France,  in  1790.  Upon  the  downfall  of 
Napoleon,  he  came  to  America  and  engaged  in  several  unsuc- 
cessful business  ventures,  including  a  brief  experiment  in  farm- 
ing at  Milford,  Pennsylvania.  Here  his  son,  William,  was  born 
in  May,  1820.  William  Chauvenet  received  his  elementary 
education  in  the  schools  of  Philadelphia,  and  at  the  age  of  16 
entered  Yale  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1840. 

From  an  early  age,  he  had  shown  a  special  aptitude  for 
mathematical  and  mechanical  studies,  and  soon  after  graduation 
was  engaged  to  assist  Professor  Bache  in  magnetic  observations 
at  Girard  College.  Not  long  afterwards  he  was  appointed  a 
professor  of  mathematics  in  the  Navy,  and  upon  the  death  of 
Professor  David  McClure  in  1842,  was  placed  in  charge  of 
the  naval  schools,  which  were  then  located  in  the  Naval  Asylum 
in  Philadelphia,  but  in  1845  were  removed  to  Annapolis.  The 
old  plan  of  instructing  midshipmen  when  at  sea  had  proved 
unsatisfactory,  and  an  eight  months'  course  at  the  naval  schools 
was  substituted.  This  in  turn  seemed  far  from  adequate,  and 
Professor  Chauvenet  elaborated  a  plan  for  a  regularly  organized 
institution  for  the  training  of  naval  officers,  and  urged  it  upon 
the  consideration  of  several  successive  secretaries  of  the  Navy. 
It  was  not  until  1851,  however,  that  a  regular  four  years'  course 


122  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

was  finally  adopted.  "  The  Naval  Academy  is  more  indebted 
to  him  than  to  any  other  for  its  development  and  organiza- 
tion  At  first  as  professor  of  mathematics  and  astronomy, 

later  of  astronomy,  navigation,  and  surveying,  he  was  always 
the  most  prominent  of  the  academic  staff.  The  Academy  derived 
reputation  from  his  recognized  ability."  (Coffin.) 

In  1855  Professor  Chauvenet  was  offered  the  position  of  Pro- 
fessor of  Mathematics  in  Yale  College  and  in  1859  that  of 
astronomy  and  natural  philosophy.  At  the  same  time  he 
received  an  offer  from  Washington  University,  then  newly- 
founded,  of  the  professorship  of  mathematics.  After  considera- 
tion, he  accepted  the  position  in  Washington  University,  and  in 
1862,  he  became  Chancellor  of  that  institution.  He  labored 
assiduously  and  successfully  in  developing  the  University,  but 
his  health  soon  became  impaired,  and  in  1869  he  felt  himself 
obliged  to  resign  his  position.  He  died  the  next  year  at  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota,  at  the  age  of  51  years. 

Besides  numerous  papers  on  astronomical  and  mathematical 
subjects,  Professor  Chauvenet  published  several  text-books  of 
a  high  order  of  excellence.  These  included  a  work  on  trigo- 
nometry (1850),  a  manual  of  spherical  and  practical  astronomy 
(1863),  and  a  text-book  of  geometry  (1870). 

In  addition  to  his  abilities  as  a  man  of  science  and  an  educator, 
Professor  Chauvenet  possessed  marked  talent  as  a  musical  per- 
former, and  his  enthusiastic  interest  in  that  art  continued  to  the 
end  of  his  life. 

(From  J.  H.  C.  COFFIN,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  227-244.) 

JOHN  HUNTINGTON  CRANE  COFFIN 
Born,  September  14,  1815;  died,  January  8,  1890 

Professor  Coffin  was  born  at  Wiscasset,  Maine,  in  1815.  He 
was  graduated  from  Bowdoin  College  in  1834.  In  1836  he  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  United  States  Navy 
and  served  on  various  vessels.  He  was  detailed  to  the  Naval 
Observatory  at  Washington  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  Mural 


THE  INCORPORATORS  123 

Circle  in  1843.  In  1853  ^e  was  appointed  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics in  the  United  States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  Mary- 
land, and  continued  his  work  there  until  1865.  During  the  latter 
portion  of  this  period,  he  was  Professor  of  Astronomy  and  Navi- 
gation. 

The  same  year,  1865,  he  had  charge  of  the  American  Ephem- 
eris  and  Nautical  Almanac.  This  work  was  then  published  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  but  the  office  was  afterwards  re- 
moved to  Washington.  Professor  Coffin  continued  his  labors  in 
this  connection  until  September,  1877,  when  he  was  retired  from 
the  Navy.  He  died  at  Washington,  January  8,  1890. 

He  published  a  number  of  articles  on  the  phases  of  astronomy 
and  mathematics  to  which  he  had  given  special  study. 

JOHN  ADOLPHUS  BERNHARD  DAHLGREN 
Born,  November  13,  1809;  died,  July  12,  1870 

Admiral  Dahlgren  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on  November 
13,  1809.  His  father,  Bernhard  Ullrik  Dahlgren,  a  Swede,  was 
obliged  to  leave  his  native  country  in  1804,  owing  to  his  advocacy 
of  republican  principles.  He  came  to  America  in  1806,  and  his 
government  having  withdrawn  its  opposition  he  obtained  the 
post  of  Swedish  Consul  at  Philadelphia.  John  Dahlgren  attrib- 
uted his  inventive  genius  to  his  mother,  while  his  desire  for  a 
seaman's  life  was  stirred  by  the  sight  of  the  ships  that  lay  at 
the  wharves,  or  at  the  Navy  Yard,  at  Philadelphia.  Com- 
mencing his  education  at  the  Quaker  School,  he  made  such  prog- 
ress under  the  watchful  care  of  his  father  that  when  application 
was  made  for  a  midshipman's  place  in  the  Navy,  the  heartiest 
recommendations  were  received  from  his  instructors. 

On  the  1 2th  of  April  orders  came  to  proceed  to  Norfolk  and 
report  to  Captain  Barron  for  duty  on  the  frigate  Macedonia, 
sailing  for  Brazil.  A  cruise  in  the  Mediterranean  followed, 
with  promotion  to  a  lieutenancy.  A  little  later  he  took  part  in 
the  work  of  the  Coast  Survey.  About  this  time  a  threatened 
loss  of  eyesight  caused  the  young  man  to  retire  to  a  farm  near 
Hartsville,  Pennsylvania,  and  later  he  made  a  home  for  his 


124  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

family  at  Wilmington,  Delaware.  With  restored  sight, 
Lieutenant  Dahlgren,  in  1843,  returned  to  active  duty  in  the 
Navy  and  made  a  cruise  of  two  years'  duration  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean in  the  ship  Cumberland. 

In  1847,  being  ordered  to  Washington  on  ordnance  duty, 
Lieutenant  Dahlgren  began  the  studies  and  labors  which  in 
1 6  years  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  Ordnance  Department 
of  the  Navy.  In  1850  he  announced  the  principles  which  he  had 
evolved  and  after  many  discouragements  and  difficulties  in 
protecting  his  inventions,  and  securing  recognition  for  his 
ordnance  system,  on  August  13,  1856,  he  was  given  command 
of  the  sloop-of-war  Plymouth,  with  which  to  introduce  his 
new  weapons  of  naval  warfare  and  especially  his  n-inch 
gun.  After  a  year's  cruise,  the  ship  returned,  all  objections  to 
the  heavy  guns  having  been  overcome,  and  their  inventor  after 
his  1 1  years  of  labor,  having  obtained  a  complete  victory  for 
his  ordnance  principles.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War, 
Commander  Dahlgren  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Washington 
Navy  Yard  and  made  Chief  of  the  Ordnance  Bureau. 

In  July,  1862,  he  took  command  of  the  South  Atlantic 
Squadron  and  the  following  year  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
fleet  stationed  before  Charleston,  S.  C.,  succeeding  Admiral 
Foote.  For  gallant  conduct  he  received  the  thanks  of  Congress 
and  was  made  a  rear-admiral.  At  the  close  of  the  war, 
Admiral  Dahlgren  returned  to  Washington  and  subsequently 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  South  Pacific  Squadron.  Returning 
from  the  cruise,  he  took  up  his  duties  as  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ordnance  at  Washington,  continuing  in  this  position  until  his 
death,  July  12,  1870.  He  was  the  author  of  some  important 
works  on  gunnery,  including  "  Thirty-two  pound  Practice  for 
Ranges,"  "  Naval  Percussion  Locks  and  Primers,"  and  "  Shells 
and  Shell  Guns."  During  a  period  of  44  years  he  kept  a  journal 
which  gives  vivid  pictures  of  his  life  and  times. 

(See  MADELEINE  V.  DAHLGREN,  "  Memoir  of  John  A.  Dahlgren,"  Boston, 
1882.) 


THE  INCORPORATORS  125 

JAMES  DWIGHT  DANA 

Born,  February  12,  1813;  died,  April  14,  1895 

The  Dana  family  is  supposed  to  be  either  French  or  Italian 
in  origin.  Its  earliest  American  representative  was  Richard 
Dana  who  came  from  England  in  1690,  and  settled  at  Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts.  From  him  many  men  illustrious  in 
science  and  literature  trace  their  pedigree.  James  Dwight  Dana, 
the  oldest  in  a  family  of  ten  children,  was  born  in  Utica,  New 
York,  February  12,  1813.  "  Honesty,  virtue,  and  industry  seem 
almost  to  be  our  natural  inheritance,"  was  his  own  estimate  of 
his  home.  His  first  instruction  in  science  was  obtained  in  a 
school  conducted  by  Charles  Bartlett  at  Utica,  and  known  as 
the  "  Utica  High  School."  In  1830  young  Dana  entered  Yale 
College,  attracted  there,  as  he  said,  by  the  reputation  of  Pro- 
fessor Benjamin  Silliman.  Entering  as  a  sophomore,  he  was 
graduated  in  1833.  By  the  recommendation  of  his  professors, 
he  received  the  position  of  instructor  in  the  Navy,  leaving  New 
York,  on  August  14,  of  the  same  year,  in  the  ship  of  the  line 
Delaware,  for  a  cruise  to  the  Mediterranean.  In  July,  1834, 
he  visited  Mt.  Vesuvius,  and  a  letter  written  to  Professor  Silli- 
man describing  its  state  at  that  time  was  published  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Science  the  following  year.  On  his  return 
to  New  York  after  a  voyage  of  16  months,  Dana  was  invited  to 
become  assistant  to  Professor  Silliman,  which  offer  he  gladly 
accepted  and  was  thus  brought  into  touch  with  the  circle  of 
scientific  men  at  Yale.  At  this  time  he  began  work  on  his  System 
of  Mineralogy  the  first  edition  of  which  was  published  in  1837. 
When  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  under  Captain 
Wilkes,  was  preparing  for  its  cruise  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Pro- 
fessor Dana  was  selected  as  the  mineralogist  and  geologist.  This 
appointment  was  made  in  January,  1837,  but  the  expedition  did 
not  sail  until  August  18,  1838.  It  returned  to  New  York  on  June 
10,  1842.  Dana's  letters  written  during  the  cruise  are  most  enter- 
taining, besides  furnishing  valuable  geological  and  mineral- 
ogical  information  regarding  the  countries  visited.  While 
preparing  his  reports,  which  occupied  him  for  a  period  of  13 


126  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

years,  Professor  Dana  resided  for  a  part  of  the  time  in  Washing- 
ton, but  after  his  marriage  to  the  daughter  of  Professor  Silliman, 
he  made  his  home  in  New  Haven,  that  city  then  offering  better 
facilities  for  his  work.  Besides  the  report  on  geology,  which 
formed  a  large  quarto  volume  with  21  plates,  he  also  wrote  the 
reports  on  zoophytes  and  crustaceans  consisting  of  three  quarto 
volumes,  with  atlases  of  more  than  150  plates.  Most  of  the 
drawings  were  made  with  his  own  hand. 

On  February  18,  1856,  Dana  delivered  his  inaugural  address 
as  "  Silliman  Professor  of  Natural  History  "  at  Yale,  to  which 
position  he  had  been  appointed  in  i85o.2  During  the  40  years 
that  followed,  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  time  not  occupied 
by  his  duties  as  professor,  in  writing  new  general  works  on 
mineralogy  and  geology  or  preparing  new  editions  of  earlier 
ones,  and  in  zoological  and  geological  investigations.  The  titles 
of  his  communications  to  scientific  societies  and  journals  during 
this  period  number  more  than  100.  The  first  edition  of  his 
"  Manual  of  Geology"  appeared  in  1862,  and  in  1864  the  first 
edition  of  his  "  Textbook  of  Geology."  In  1868,  the  fifth  edition 
of  his  "  System  of  Mineralogy  "  was  published;  "  a  monumental 
work,  the  most  complete  treatise,  indeed,  that  had  ever  been 
attempted." 

In  1870,  Dana  began  the  study  of  the  glaciers  of  New 
England  and  published  a  monograph  on  the  geology  of  the 
New  Haven  region.  Two  years  later  his  book  on  "  Corals  and 
Coral  Islands  "  was  published,  and  he  began  the  study  of  the  so- 
called  "  Taconic  "  rocks  of  New  England.  In  1875  he  published 
a  book  called  "  The  Geological  Story  Briefly  Told."  After  some 
years  in  which  ill  health  interfered  seriously  with  his  activities, 
in  1887  he  visited  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  where  he  studied  the 
volcanoes.  He  prepared  at  this  time  a  work  on  volcanoes  which 
was  published  in  1890,  and  another  called  "The  Four  Rocks 
of  the  New  Haven  Region  "  which  appeared  the  following  year. 
In  1892  he  retired  from  his  active  duties  as  a  professor  in  the 

2  The  title  was  changed  in  1864  to  Professor  of  Geology  and  Mineralogy. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  127 

university  and  in  1894  became  professor  emeritus.     He  died  at 
New  Haven  on  April  14,  1895. 

Dana  took  great  interest  in  the  development  of  the  Sheffield 
Scientific  School  and  the  Peabody  Museum  at  Yale.  He  was 
President  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science  in  1854,  and  of  the  Connecticut  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  in  1857.  For  about  50  years  he  served  as  one  of  the 
editors  of  the  American  Journal  of  Science.  He  received  the 
Wollaston  Medal  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London  in  1872, 
the  Copley  Medal  of  the  Royal  Society  in  1877,  and  the  Grand 
Walker  Prize  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History  "  for 
distinguished  services  in  natural  history"  in  1892.  He  was  the 
first  Vice-President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

(See  OILMAN,  D.  C.,  The  Life  of  James  Dwight  Dana,  1899;  also  the  bio- 
graphical sketch  by  E.  S.  Dana,  in  Amer.  Journ.  Sci.,  ser.  3,  vol.  49,  pp.  329-356.) 

CHARLES  HENRY  DAVIS 
Born,  January  16,  1807;  died,  February  18,  1877 

Seventeen  years  of  Admiral  Davis'  early  life  were  spent 
almost  constantly  at  sea,  in  the  service  of  the  Navy.  He  was 
born  in  Boston,  January  16,  1807,  and  educated  at  the  Boston 
Latin  School  and  at  Harvard  College.  He  entered  the  Navy  in 
1823,  having  left  college  for  that  purpose  before  his  course  was 
completed,  but  taking  his  degree  with  the  class  of  1825.  His 
first  cruise  was  to  the  Pacific  on  board  the  frigate  United  States, 
with  Commander  Isaac  Hull.  In  this  cruise  Davis  was  also 
with  the  Dolphin,  visiting  the  then  unknown  islands  of  the 
Pacific,  when  a  new  island  of  the  Society  group  was  discovered. 
The  Dolphin  was  the  first  American  man-of-war  to  visit  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  Davis  received  his  midshipman's  warrant 
in  1829,  was  appointed  acting  sailing-master  of  the  Ontario,  and 
made  a  three  years'  cruise  in  the  Mediterranean.  Later  he 
served  as  flag-lieutenant  on  the  Vincennes,  was  connected  with 
the  naval  rendezvous  in  Boston,  and  made  a  cruise  in  the 
Independence.  During  this  voyage,  the  ship  stopped  at  South- 


128  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

ampton  and  Davis  was  in  London  at  the  time  of  the  death  of 
William  IV,  and  saw  the  young  queen  Victoria.  He  also  visited 
St.  Petersburg  and  was  presented  at  court. 

During  all  these  years  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of 
astronomy  and  hydrography,  and  having  had  experience  in 
navigation,  he  found  the  position  offered  him  in  the  rapidly- 
developing  Coast  Survey  most  congenial  to  his  tastes.  The 
years  1842  to  1849  were  spent  in  that  service,  during  which  he 
discovered  "  Davis'  New  South  Shoal,"  20  miles  south  of 
Nantucket  shoals,  and  published  several  papers  on  the  laws 
governing  the  geological  action  of  the  tidal  and  other  currents 
of  the  ocean.  His  "  Law  of  Deposit  of  the  Flood  Tide  "  is 
still  an  accepted  authority.  When  the  Navy  Department 
resolved  to  publish  an  American  Ephemeris  and  Nautical  Al- 
manac, Davis  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  work,  and  by  suc- 
cessfully establishing  it,  made  an  enduring  monument  to  his 
abilities. 

Enjoying  the  facilities  of  Harvard  University  and  the  Cam- 
bridge Observatory,  and  having  built  a  house  in  Cambridge, 
Davis  passed  many  happy  years  in  the  congenial  society  of  the 
men  of  science  and  letters  then  residing  there. 

In  1853,  he  served  as  commissioner  to  the  "  Crystal  Palace  " 
Industrial  Exhibition  in  New  York. 

After  31  years'  service  in  the  Navy,  in  June,  1854,  he  received 
his  commission  as  commander,  and  in  1856  returned  to  active 
naval  service,  making  several  voyages,  and  taking  part  in  the 
"  Walker  episode  "  in  Nicaragua.  He  also  published  several 
works  of  value  to  navigators. 

During  the  Civil  War,  Davis  rendered  efficient  service  on  the 
Construction  Board  of  the  Navy,  and  as  fleet  captain  in  the 
expedition  against  Port  Royal,  and  flag  officer  in  command  of 
the  Mississippi  flotilla.  For  his  gallant  conduct  he  was  made 
Rear- Admiral,  February  7,  1863,  and  received  the  thanks  of  Con- 
gress. During  this  year,  Admiral  Davis  became  the  first  Chief  of 
the  Bureau  of  Navigation  and  in  1865  assumed  the  superin- 
tendency  of  the  Naval  Observatory,  raising  it  to  a  high  degree 
of  efficiency. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  129 

Called  once  more  to  service  at  sea,  Admiral  Davis  in  1867 
assumed  charge  of  the  Brazilian  Squadron,  when  he  encountered 
the  unfortunate  trouble  with  Lopez,  which  caused  so  much 
discussion  in  military  circles.  During  his  absence  in  Brazil, 
Harvard  University  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws,  the  only  instance  up  to  that  time  in  which  it  had  been 
given  to  a  naval  commander. 

Admiral  Davis  commanded  the  naval  station  at  Norfolk  for 
three  years,  returning  to  the  superintendency  of  the  Observatory 
in  1874,  when  he  became  chairman  of  the  Transit  of  Venus 
Commission.  In  editing  Captain  Hall's  journal  of  Arctic 
expeditions  and  in  work  on  the  naval  exhibit  at  the  Centennial 
Exhibition,  he  overtaxed  his  health  and  died  at  Washington, 
February  18,  1877.  He  was  buried  on  the  banks  of  the  Charles 
River,  overlooking  the  University  and  his  old  home,  and  a 
stained-glass  window,  bearing  his  record,  has  been  placed  in 
the  Memorial  Hall  at  Harvard. 

Admiral  Davis  was  one  of  the  members  of  the  "  Permanent 
Commission "  of  the  Navy  Department,  out  of  which  the 
Academy  appears  in  a  measure  to  have  developed.  He  was  one 
of  those  most  deeply  interested  in  the  Academy  movement,  and 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  conceive  the  idea  of  having  it 
incorporated  under  the  Federal  Government.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  Council  of  1863,  and  served  on  many  important 
committees. 

(From  C.  H.  DAVIS,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  4,  1902,  pp.  23-55;  see  also  "  Life  of  Charles  Henry  Davis,  Rear- 
Admiral,  1807-1877,"  by  the  same  author,  1899.) 

GEORGE  ENGELMANN 
Born,  February  2,  1809;  died,  February  4,  1884 

Engelmann  was  descended  on  his  father's  side  from  a  long 
line  of  ministers  for  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Bacharach- 
on-the-Rhine,  and  on  his  mother's  side  from  a  family  of  Hugue- 
not emigres  from  the  vicinity  of  Amiens.  He  was  born  at 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  February  2,  1809.  His  parents  estab- 


130  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

lished  a  school  for  young  ladies,  to  which  both  contributed  their 
superior  talents,  and  his  earlier  education  was  guided  by  them. 
At  the  age  of  15  years  he  showed  a  great  interest  in  botany, 
and  began  a  collection  of  plants.  Studying  at  home  until  his 
1 8th  year,  he  entered  the  University  of  Heidelberg,  in  1827. 
Here  he  formed  a  friendship  with  Alexander  Braun,  which 
lasted  until  the  death  of  that  distinguished  scientist. 

Having  joined  in  a  political  demonstration  in  Heidelberg, 
young  Engelmann  was  obliged  to  leave  the  University,  and 
went  to  Berlin.  After  two  years  spent  there  he  entered  the 
University  of  Wiirzburg,  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  in  1831.  His  inaugural  dissertation,  relating  chiefly 
to  the  monstrosities  and  aberrant  forms  of  plants,  and  illustrated 
by  plates  made  by  himself,  is  still  considered  one  of  the  most 
philosophical  of  its  kind,  and  was  highly  commended  at  the  time 
by  the  poet-philosopher  Goethe.  Spending  the  summer  of  1832 
in  Paris  with  Braun  and  Agassiz  as  companions,  where  he  says 
they  "  led  a  glorious  life  in  scientific  union  in  spite  of  the 
cholera  "  then  raging  in  the  city,  Engelmann  accepted  a  posi- 
tion as  an  agent  of  his  uncles  for  the  purchase  of  lands  in  the 
United  States,  and  settled  near  St.  Louis.  He  made  many 
fatiguing  horse-back  journeys  through  the  neighboring  States, 
during  which  he  kept  a  record  of  his  botanical  observations, 
which  he  afterwards  used  in  his  scientific  work. 

Deciding  to  remain  in  St.  Louis,  then  only  a  trading  post, 
Dr.  Engelmann  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  with  so 
little  means,  that  he  was  forced  to  part  with  his  gun  and  his 
faithful  horse  to  furnish  his  offices.  Four  years  later,  however, 
his  practice  had  become  very  successful.  Familiarity  with 
French  and  German  added  much  to  this  success  among  the  early 
settlers  who  spoke  those  languages.  This  and  his  great  profes- 
sional ability  brought  him  financial  independence,  but  even  to 
the  last  year  of  his  life  he  did  not  hesitate  to  respond  to  the  call 
of  those  desiring  his  aid.  His  vacations,  spent  at  the  Harvard 
gardens  and  herbarium  in  the  company  of  his  friend  Dr.  Asa 
Gray,  or  in  Europe  with  his  wife  and  son,  were  devoted  to  gather- 
ing data  for  his  scientific  work. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  131 

In  later  life  Dr.  Engelmann  visited  the  mountain  region  of 
North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  the  Lake  Superior  region,  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  Coast,  seeing  for  the  first  time 
in  the  native  haunts  many  species  of  plants  he  had  studied  before 
from  dried  specimens,  and  adding  to  the  great  collections  already 
made. 

He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  land  of  his  adoption  and 
showed  his  devotion  to  its  scientific  welfare  by  his  efforts  in  the 
founding  of  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  of  which  he  was 
1 6  times  elected  President.  He  also  delivered  courses  of  lectures 
at  Washington  University,  an  institution  in  which  he  took  great 
interest.  In  return,  many  marks  of  appreciation  were  given  him, 
preeminently  in  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Shaw  and  others  in  collect- 
ing and  republishing  all  his  botanical  works.  His  entire  herba- 
rium, comprising  100,000  specimens,  and  his  library,  including 
his  notes  and  botanical  sketches,  have  since  been  given  by  his  son 
to  the  Missouri  Botanical  Garden,  sometimes  known  as  the 
Shaw  Garden. 

Crushed  in  spirit  by  the  death  of  his  wife  and  the  illness  of 
his  son,  in  1879  Dr.  Engelmann's  health  was  seriously  impaired, 
but  accepting  Professor  Sargent's  invitation  to  accompany  him 
to  the  forests  of  the  Pacific  Coast  he  gradually  regained  his 
spirit  of  cheerfulness,  and  though  the  journey  was  an  arduous 
one  for  a  man  of  his  age  he  once  more  took  up  his  work.  In  1883 
he  revisited  Europe,  but  soon  after  his  return  succumbed  to  the 
disease  that  had  fastened  itself  upon  him,  and  died  February  4, 
1884. 

Dr.  Engelmann's  last  publication  was  his  meteorological  work 
— the  result  of  his  observations  for  47  years. 

His  botanical  work  was  very  extensive,  the  notes  made  in  the 
examination  of  specimens  amounting  to  20,000  slips,  constituting 
60  quarto  volumes.  His  studies  of  the  cactus  family,  of  the 
yucca  and  the  agave,  of  the  American  oaks  and  conifers,  and  of 
North  American  vines,  show  marks  of  his  indomitable  energy 
and  patience.  His  endurance  as  a  traveller  was  remarkable. 


132  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

His  companions  spoke  of  him  as  having  "  good  spirits,  good 
nature,  and  good  fellowship." 

(From  CHARLES  A.  WHITE,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  4,  1902,  pp.  I-2I.) 

JOHN  FRIES  FRAZER 
Born,  July  8,  1812;  died,  October  12,  1872 

The  career  of  John  Fries  Frazer  was  largely  connected  with 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  the  son  of  Robert  Frazer,  an 
eminent  lawyer,  and  was  born  on  Chestnut  Street,  opposite  Inde- 
pendence Hall,  July  8,  1812.  His  grandfather  was  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Persifor  Frazer,  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

He  first  attended  a  school  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  took 
high  rank  in  study  and  likewise  in  sports,  and  after  spending  a 
year  at  the  military  school  of  Captain  Partridge,  at  Middle- 
town,  Connecticut,  became  a  pupil  of  Rev.  S.  B.  Wylie.  By  him 
he  was  thoroughly  drilled  in  the  classics  and  in  mathematics,  as 
well  as  in  ecclesiastical  history.  After  graduation  from  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  young  Frazer  served  as  laboratory 
assistant  to  Professor  Bache.  Later  he  held  the  position  of 
assistant  in  the  Geological  Survey  of  Pennsylvania,  and  also  took 
up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  John  M.  Scott.  In  due 
course  he  was  admitted  to  practice.  The  physical  and  chemical 
sciences,  however,  proved  more  attractive  to  Frazer,  and  after 
being  professor  in  the  High  School  of  Philadelphia  for  some 
time,  he  accepted  the  professorship  of  chemistry  and  physics 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  This  position  he  held  till 
his  death,  when,  from  being  the  youngest  member  of  the  faculty, 
he  had  become  senior  professor  and  Vice-Provost. 

As  a  teacher,  Professor  Frazer  was  most  successful.  His 
lectures  were  delivered  with  enthusiasm  and  enlivened  by  many 
anecdotes,  and  roused  the  deepest  interest  in  the  students.  At 
the  Franklin  Institute,  also,  he  carried  on,  with  great  satis- 
faction, the  task  of  popularizing  physical  science. 

After  his  marriage  in  1838,  his  house  became  a  center  of 
social  and  intellectual  intercourse.  He  had  assembled  a  large 


THE  INCORPORATORS  133 

library,  with  the  contents  of  which  he  was  so  well  acquainted 
that,  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  he  could  turn  to  the  exact 
pages  of  works  rarely  referred  to,  and  give  the  desired  infor- 
mation. 

Ill  health  obliged  him  in  1867  to  seek  rest  and  recreation  by 
journeying  to  Europe.  He  was  so  much  benefited  thereby  that 
he  was  able  to  carry  on  his  work  again,  which  he  did  until  his 
sudden  death  on  October  12,  1872.  This  occurred  on  the  day 
following  the  inauguration  of  the  new  University  building, 
while  superintending  the  transfer  of  his  apparatus  and  scientific 
library  to  the  shelves  in  his  department. 

(From  JOHN  L.  LECoNTE,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  245-256.) 

WOLCOTT  GIBBS 

Born,  February  21,  1822;  died,  December  9,  1908 

Wolcott  Gibbs  belonged  to  a  family  in  which  scientific  tastes 
were  strongly  manifested.  His  father,  Colonel  George  Gibbs, 
wrote  several  memoirs  upon  mineralogical  subjects,  and  his 
name  was  given  to  the  mineral  Gibbsite.  His  brother  also 
attained  some  reputation  as  a  geologist.  On  his  mother's  side, 
several  of  the  Wolcott  family  held  important  positions  under 
the  Government,  her  father  having  been  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  a  Justice  of  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court,  and  finally 
Governor  of  Connecticut.  An  earlier  representative  of  the 
family,  another  Oliver  Wolcott,  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  early  childhood  of  Wolcott 
Gibbs  was  spent  on  the  estate  at  Sunswick,  Long  Island.  His 
father's  death,  when  he  was  only  n  years  old,  left  him  to  the 
care  of  his  mother,  who  impressed  on  him  the  influence  of  her 
superior  character.  At  a  very  early  age,  he  showed  a  fondness 
for  minerals  and  flowers.  He  was  sent  to  a  private  school  in 
Boston  when  seven  years  old,  and  his  summers  were  spent  near 
Newport  at  the  home  of  Dr.  Channing,  who  was  a  connection 
by  marriage.  Returning  to  New  York,  young  Gibbs  prepared 
for  college,  and  entered  Columbia,  from  which  he  was  graduated 


134  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

in  1841.  In  his  junior  year  he  published  a  paper  on  a  new  kind 
of  galvanic  battery  in  which  carbon  was  used,  probably  for  the 
first  time,  as  the  inactive  plate. 

Though  never  practicing  medicine,  Gibbs  obtained  a  diploma 
from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  New  York,  in 
1845,  having  previously  been  associated  with  Professor  Robert 
Hare  in  his  laboratory  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  To 
perfect  his  training  in  chemistry,  Dr.  Gibbs  spent  some  time  in 
Berlin,  at  Giessen,  and  in  Paris,  and  among  his  teachers  Hein- 
rich  Rose  probably  stands  foremost  in  the  influence  which  he 
had  in  turning  Gibbs'  attention  toward  analytical  and  inorganic 
chemistry. 

After  his  return  to  America,  Dr.  Gibbs  served  as  Professor 
of  Chemistry  in  the  Free  Academy,  now  the  College  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  for  14  years.  Much  of  his  time  was  given  to 
research  work,  and  in  1857,  in  connection  with  Genth,  Dr.  Gibbs 
published  an  important  memoir  on  the  ammonia-cobalt  bases, 
which  brought  him  prominently  to  the  notice  of  the  scientific 
world. 

He  became  associate  editor  of  the  American  Journal  of 
Science  in  1851,  and  furnished  abstracts  amounting  to  500  pages 
to  that  periodical.  In  1861  he  published  his  researches  on  the 
platinum  metals,  which  established  his  reputation  as  a  chemist. 

In  1863  he  was  called  to  the  Rumford  professorship  at 
Harvard  University.  Besides  lecturing  on  heat  and  light,  Pro- 
fessor Gibbs  had  charge  of  the  chemical  laboratory  in  the 
Lawrence  Scientific  School.  Associated  in  this  school  with 
Agassiz,  Gray,  Wyman,  Peirce  and  Cooke,  he  carried  on 
research  work  for  eight  years,  at  the  same  time  supervising  the 
work  of  the  post-graduate  students  whose  investigations  were 
undertaken  on  their  own  initiative,  with  only  a  final  examination 
for  the  bachelor's  degree,  after  the  pattern  of  the  German  schools, 
whose  methods,  through  the  influence  of  Gibbs,  were  thus  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States. 

After  the  consolidation  of  the  Scientific  School  with  the 
College  at  Harvard,  Professor  Gibbs  retained  only  the  Rum- 


THE  INCORPORATORS  135 

ford  professorship.  He  equipped  a  small  laboratory  for  himself 
and  carried  out  those  brilliant  researches  on  complex  inorganic 
acids,  which  brought  him  the  highest  praise.  The  chief  piece 
of  apparatus  used  in  these  important  investigations  was  a  cast- 
iron  cooking  stove,  and  the  rest  of  the  equipment  was  equally 
modest. 

After  the  closing  of  the  Scientific  School  laboratory,  Dr. 
Gibbs  lectured  to  small  classes  upon  the  spectroscope,  and  on 
thermodynamics.  Upon  his  retirement  as  professor  emeritus, 
he  removed  his  private  laboratory  to  Newport,  where  he  had  a 
summer  home.  Here  he  took  pleasure  in  his  garden  and  especi- 
ally in  the  cultivation  of  roses.  His  death  occurred  on  Decem- 
ber 9,  1908,  when  he  was  nearly  87  years  of  age. 

Gibbs  wrote  no  books  and  delivered  no  popular  lectures,  but 
his  researches  and  his  voluminous  scientific  writings  brought 
him  honors  from  many  scientific  societies  in  Europe  and  America. 
He  was  the  first  Home  Secretary  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  and  its  President  for  five  years,  and  also  presided  over 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in 
1897. 

As  a  citizen  he  was  not  devoid  of  public  spirit.  The  Union 
League  Club  was  founded  at  his  house,  and  he  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  Sanitary  Commission,  the  forerunner  of  the  Red 
Cross  Society. 

(From  F.  W.  CLARKE,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  7,  1910,  pp.  I-I2.) 

JAMES  MELVILLE  GILLISS 

Born,  September  6,  1811 ;  died,  February  9,  1865 

Captain  Gilliss  was  the  eldest  son  of  George  Gilliss  and  Mary 
Melville  Gilliss  of  Georgetown,  D.  C.  His  father,  who  was  in 
the  service  of  the  Government,  was  a  descendant  of  Thomas 
Gilliss,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  settled  at  an  early  date  on  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  James  Melville  Gilliss  entered 
the  Navy,  as  midshipman,  in  1826.  He  obtained  leave  of 
absence  in  1833,  and  entered  the  University  of  Virginia,  but  was 


136  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

able  to  remain  there  only  a  year  on  account  of  a  serious  affection 
of  the  eyes,  brought  on  by  overstudy.  In  1836  he  was  assigned 
to  the  Depot  of  Charts  and  Instruments,  an  office  whose  function 
was  in  part  the  rating  of  chronometers.  Gilliss  was  soon  placed 
in  charge  of  this  office  and  began  to  make  observations  for  the 
determinations  of  time.  In  the  winter  of  1837-8  he  observed 
a  large  series  of  transits  of  the  moon  and  moon-culminating 
stars.  When  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition  sailed  in 
1838,  Gilliss  remained  in  Washington  under  orders  to  observe 
moon-culminations,  occultations  and  transits,  and  continued  in 
that  work  during  the  four  years  in  which  the  expedition  was 
absent.  He  published  the  first  American  volume  of  astronomical 
observations,  prepared  the  first  catalogue  of  stars  and  con- 
structed a  working  astronomical  observatory.  At  the  same  time 
he  carried  on  magnetic  and  meteorological  observations. 

Gilliss  pursued  his  investigations  with  remarkable  energy  and 
studious  application  and  was  possessed  of  extraordinary  powers 
of  sight  which  enabled  him  to  make  extremely  accurate  obser- 
vations. 

The  establishment  of  the  U.  S.  Naval  Observatory  in  1842 
was  brought  about  largely  through  the  efforts  of  Gilliss,  and  he 
was  charged  with  the  preparation  of  the  plans  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  building  and  the  arrangement  of  the  instruments. 
In  1846  he  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  Coast  Survey  under 
Professor  Bache. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Gerling  of  Marburg,  he  initiated  a 
movement  for  an  expedition  to  Chile,  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
serving the  planet  Venus  and  in  1849  established  a  station  at 
Santiago  where  for  nearly  three  years  he  carried  on  observations 
of  Venus  and  Mars,  together  with  meridian  observations  of 
2,000  stars  and  also  zones  of  about  23,000  stars,  as  well  as  obser- 
vations on  earthquakes,  and  barometer  and  thermometer  readings. 

From  1852  to  1856  he  was  occupied  in  preparing  the  report 
of  this  expedition  which  comprises  six  quarto  volumes.  In  1858 
he  made  a  brief  expedition  to  Peru  and  in  1860  to  Washington 
Territory  for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  total  eclipse  of  the 


THE  INCORPORATORS  137 

sun.    In  1861  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  U.  S.  Naval  Observ- 
atory, in  which  office  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1865. 

(From  B.  A.  GOULD,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  PP-  1 35-1 79-) 

AUGUSTUS  ADDISON  GOULD 

Born,  April  23,  1805;  died,  September  15,  1866 

Dr.  Gould  was  born  in  New  Ipswich,  New  Hampshire,  April 
23,  1805.  His  father  was  a  teacher  of  music  and  a  skilful 
engraver,  but  turned  his  hand  to  many  things,  among  which  was 
the  management  of  a  small  farm  on  which  he  lived.  From  1817 
to  1820  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature.  The  care  of 
the  little  farm  among  the  hills  demanded  the  help  of  his  son 
Augustus,  who  at  15  years  of  age  took  entire  charge  of  it. 
Having  a  desire  to  obtain  more  education  than  he  had  received 
at  the  common  school,  young  Gould  by  great  industry  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  the  preparation  for  entering  Harvard  College, 
which  he  did  in  1821.  During  his  whole  course  he  maintained 
himself  by  hard  work  and  in  strict  economy.  He  studied 
medicine  in  Boston,  and  after  spending  one  year  as  resident 
student  in  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  received  his 
doctor's  degree  in  1830.  He  was  still  obliged  to  perform  many 
hard  tasks  to  gain  the  means  of  support,  and  among  these  we  find 
mention  of  cataloguing  and  classifying  50,000  pamphlets  in  the 
Boston  Athenaeum  Library.  Natural  history  was  always  his 
favorite  study,  and  he  became  a  member  of  the  Boston  Society 
of  Natural  History  soon  after  its  formation,  and  labored  after- 
wards for  it  until  his  death,  rising  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and  working  on  the  collections  before  his  professionial  duties 
began.  His  first  collections  were  of  insects,  but  afterwards  he 
turned  his  attention  to  mollusks.  He  prepared  a  volume  of 
nearly  400  pages,  on  invertebrate  animals  of  Massachusetts, 
illustrated  by  more  than  200  drawings  which  he  made  with  his 
own  hand  from  nature.  This  attracted  much  attention  from 
naturalists  both  at  home  and  in  Europe,  and  received  special 
commendation  from  the  elder  Agassiz.  In  1848,  Dr.  Gould,  in 


138  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

collaboration  with  Agassiz,  published  a  text-book  for  schools 
on  the  principles  of  zoology.  He  also  edited  the  unfinished 
work  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Amos  Binney,  on  the  terrestrial  air- 
breathing  mollusks  of  the  United  States. 

Dr.  Gould  made  his  greatest  contribution  to  natural  history 
by  the  work  done  on  the  collection  made  by  Captain  James  P. 
Couthouy,  U.  S.  N.,  when  attached  to  the  United  States  Explor- 
ing Expedition.  As  all  the  notes  were  lost,  and  various  restric- 
tions were  made  as  to  the  manner  of  doing  the  wrork,  the  task  was 
a  perplexing  one. 

Besides  his  papers  on  natural  history,  which  number  more 
than  100,  he  also  published  medical  addresses  and  reports, 
which  were  of  great  value  to  his  profession.  He  was  President 
of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  for  several  years 
consulting  physician  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital. 
The  church  to  which  he  belonged,  and  the  public  schools  were 
benefited  by  his  labors.  Untiring  in  his  work  he  was  still  hoping 
to  attain  better  results  as  a  physician  and  naturalist,  when  he  was 
suddenly  attacked  by  cholera,  and  died  on  September  15,  1866. 

(From  WYMAN  and  DALL,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  5,  1905,  pp.  91-113.) 

BENJAMIN  APTHORP  GOULD 

Born,  September  27,  1824;  died,  November  26,  1896 

The  life  of  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould  was  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  city  of  Boston.  Born  there  on  September  27, 
1824,  he  received  his  early  education  from  his  father,  a  teacher 
of  acknowledged  merit,  and  entered  Harvard  College  in  1844. 
For  a  short  time  after  graduation,  he  was  head-master  of  the 
Roxbury  Latin  School.  Though  early  in  his  college  course  he 
showed  a  fondness  for  the  classics,  the  later  years  were  devoted 
largely  to  mathematics,  and  he  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  his 
future  work. 

In  1845  Gould  went  to  Europe,  and  spent  three  years  in 
astronomical  study  at  Berlin,  Paris,  Gottingen  and  other  cities. 
He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  from  the 


THE  INCORPORATORS  139 

University  of  Gottingen,  and  contracted  friendships  with  many 
distinguished  scholars.  It  is  said  that  through  the  influence  of 
Alexander  von  Humboldt,  Gould  obtained  a  home  in  the  family 
of  the  astronomer  Gauss.  The  favorable  impression  he  made  at 
that  time  was  no  doubt  the  cause  of  his  being  offered  the  chair 
of  Professor  of  Astronomy  in  the  University  of  Gottingen,  and 
Director  of  the  Observatory.  Though  this  was  considered  a 
high  honor,  the  first  of  the  kind,  probably,  paid  to  an  American, 
Dr.  Gould  declined  the  position,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  was 
urged  upon  him  a  second  time.  His  desire  was  to  mark  out  for 
himself  an  astronomical  career  in  America. 

From  1852  to  1867  Dr.  Gould  was  connected  with  the  Govern- 
ment service,  carrying  forward,  under  the  Coast  Survey,  the 
work  begun  by  Bache  and  Walker  in  fixing  the  longitude  of 
places  in  the  United  States. 

During  this  period  he  served  as  Director  of  the  Dudley  Observ- 
atory at  Albany,  assisted  in  reducing  and  computing  astronom- 
ical observations  made  at  the  Naval  Observatory  in  Washington, 
and  made  some  valuable  contributions  to  astronomical  literature, 
which  added  greatly  to  his  European  reputation.  During  the 
Civil  War,  Dr.  Gould  served  for  a  time  as  Actuary  of  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission. 

In  1 86 1,  he  married  Mary  Apthorp  Quincy,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Josiah  Quincy,  and  by  her  aid  he  was  able  to  build  an  observ- 
atory at  Cambridge,  and  engage  in  astronomical  observations, 
which  he  did  for  several  years. 

In  1870  Dr.  Gould  went  to  the  Argentine  Republic  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  government  observatory  at  Cordoba. 
He  remained  in  Argentina  for  15  years  and  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  southern  celestial  hemisphere,  the  crowning 
work  of  his  life.  The  loss  of  his  two  elder  children  by  drowning 
and  afterwards  the  death  of  his  wife,  who  had  ever  aided  him 
in  his  labors,  bore  heavily  upon  his  spirits,  but  after  the  last  of 
three  trips  to  his  home  in  Boston,  he  resolutely  returned  alone 
to  Cordoba  to  complete  his  task.  When  in  1885  he  finally  came 
back  to  this  country  he  brought  with  him  1400  photographic 


140  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

plates  of  southern  stellar  clusters.  To  the  measurement  and 
reduction  of  these  he  devoted  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  the  last  of  these  results  printed  in  the 
Astronomical  Journal,  which  was  brought  to  him  a  few  hours 
before  his  death.  For  the  continued  publication  of  the  Journal 
he  had  made  adequate  provision.  A  public  dinner  was  given 
Dr.  Gould  on  his  arrival  in  Boston,  presided  over  by  Hon. 
Leverett  Saltonstall,  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  welcoming 
him  by  a  poem  from  "  his  celestial  wanderings  back  to  earth." 
In  his  later  years  Dr.  Gould  did  valuable  work  for  the  American 
Metrological  Society  of  which  he  was  at  one  time  president. 

He  was  one  of  the  founders,  and  first  president,  of  the  Colo- 
nial Society  of  Massachusetts,  and  received  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Harvard  and  Columbia.  Many  dis- 
tinguished societies  enrolled  him  among  their  members,  and  he 
was  made  a  Knight  of  the  Order  of  Merit  in  Prussia,  a  distinc- 
tion given  to  only  two  other  Americans.  His  life  ended  by  an 
accident  on  the  evening  of  Thanksgiving  Day,  November  26, 
1896. 

(From  the  biographical  sketch  by  ANDREW  McF.  DAVIS,  in  the  Proceedings 
of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  April,  1897.) 

ASA  GRAY 
Born,  November  18,  1810;  died,  January  30,  1888 

Asa  Gray  was  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  and  was  born  at 
Paris,  New  York,  November  18,  1810.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  and  tanner.  Asa,  the  oldest  of  eight  children,  assisted 
his  father,  and  attended  the  country  school.  Later,  he  attended 
the  grammar  school  at  Clinton,  New  York,  and  was  also  a 
student  at  Fairfield  Academy  for  four  years.  His  first  interest 
in  natural  science  was  aroused  by  the  lectures  of  Dr.  James 
Hadley  at  the  Fairfield  Medical  School. 

His  taste  for  botany  was  aroused  by  reading  in  Brewster's 
Edinburgh  Encyclopaedia  and  Gray  soon  became  interested  in 
collecting  plants  about  Fairfield,  besides  making  excursions 
to  other  parts  of  the  State  of  New  York.  In  1829  he  became  a 


THE  INCORPORATORS  141 

student  at  Fairfield  Medical  School  and  received  a  doctor's 
degree  in  1831,  but  never  practiced.  While  a  student,  Dr.  Gray 
assembled  quite  an  extensive  herbarium,  and  many  mineralogical 
specimens,  and  began  a  correspondence  with  Dr.  Lewis  C.  Beck 
of  Albany  and  Dr.  John  Torrey  of  New  York.  After  teaching 
at  Bartlett's  High  School,  giving  a  course  of  lectures  on  botany 
at  the  Fairfield  Medical  School  and  on  botany  and  miner- 
alogy at  Hamilton  College,  Dr.  Gray  was  called  to  New  York 
as  assistant  to  Professor  Torrey.  From  this  time,  his  attention 
was  chiefly  given  to  botany,  and  some  original  papers  were  soon 
published.  In  1835  Gray  became  Curator  and  Librarian  of  the 
Lyceum  of  Natural  History  in  New  York,  and  issued  in  1836 
his  first  text-book,  the  "  Elements  of  Botany."  The  Wilkes 
Exploring  Expedition,  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  botanist, 
failing  to  sail  until  two  years  later  than  the  time  originally  set, 
he  accepted  the  chair  of  botany  at  the  newly-founded  University 
of  Michigan,  with  the  condition  that  he  be  permitted  to  spend 
a  year  in  Europe.  The  University  proved  unable,  however,  to 
meet  its  engagements  and  Dr.  Gray  returned  to  New  York  and 
continued  work  on  the  "  Flora  of  North  America,"  which  he  had 
begun  in  1836,  in  collaboration  with  Professor  Torrey.  The 
first  volume  of  this  important  treatise  appeared  in  1838,  and 
the  second  in  1843. 

Attracting  the  favorable  notice  of  President  Quincy  of  Har- 
vard, the  newly-endowed  Fisher  Professorship  of  Natural  His- 
tory was  soon  offered  him.  Dr.  Gray  entered  on  his  duties  there 
in  1842. 

Having  married,  he  established  himself  in  Cambridge  and 
surrounded  himself  with  books  and  plants.  His  home  soon 
became  a  center  for  the  study  of  botany  by  students  both  old  and 
young.  Out  of  his  small  salary,  Gray  contrived  to  find  means 
to  carry  on  his  investigations  in  botany  and  to  accumulate  speci- 
mens, so  that  in  1865,  when  he  presented  his  collections  to  the 
Harvard  College,  the  herbarium  contained  more  than  200,000 
specimens  and  the  library  about  2,200  books. 


142  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

From  the  beginning  of  his  botanical  work,  Dr.  Gray  believed 
that  the  description  and  classification  of  the  flowering  plants  was 
of  the  utmost  importance  and  after  thirty-five  years  spent  in  the 
development  of  this  branch  of  botany  he  could  safely  be  said  to 
stand  at  the  head  of  American  systematists,  and  ranked  with  the 
great  botanists  of  the  world.  His  "  Botanical  Text-book," 
"  Manual  of  the  Botany  of  the  Northern  United  States,"  and 
"  How  Plants  Grow,"  and  "  How  plants  Behave  "  have  been  of 
inestimable  value  to  American  students  of  botany.  He  died  on 
January  30,  1888. 

(From  W.  G.  FARLOW,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  3,  1895,  pp.  161-175.  See  also  the  biographical  sketches  in  the 
"  Memorial  of  Asa  Gray,"  published  by  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  1888,  and  by  JAMES  D.  DANA,  in  Amer.  Journ.  Set,,  ser.  3,  vol.  35, 
1888,  pp.  181-203.) 

ARNOLD  GUYOT 

Born,  September  28,  1807;  died,  February  8,  1884 

Guyot  was  descended  from  one  of  the  Protestant  families 
which  settled  in  Neuchatel  after  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of 
Nantes,  and  was  born  at  Boudevilliers  on  September  28,  1807. 
He  was  named  after  the  Swiss  patriot  Arnold  von  Winkelried. 
His  boyhood  was  passed  at  Hauterive,  and  from  his  home  there 
he  had  glorious  views  of  the  Bernese  Oberland,  the  Jungfrau, 
the  Schreckhorn,  and  other  mountain  peaks,  which  must  have 
helped  to  inspire  in  him  the  love  of  nature  which  he  manifested 
early  in  life. 

Young  Guyot's  first  school  days  were  spent  at  La  Chaux-de- 
Fonds,  a  village  "  at  the  foot  of  a  narrow  and  savage  gorge  of  the 
Jura,"  3,070  feet  above  the  sea.  At  the  age  of  14  he  entered  the 
College  of  Neuchatel,  where  he  pursued  classical  studies  and 
also  formed  a  friendship  with  Leo  Lesquereux,  the  botanist, 
which  lasted  throughout  his  life.  In  1825  Guyot  went  to  Ger- 
many to  complete  his  education.  He  spent  some  months  at 
Metzingen,  and  later  at  Carlsruhe  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Braun, 
the  father  of  Alexander  Braun,  the  distinguished  botanist  and 


THE   INCORPORATORS  143 

philosopher,  where  he  met  Agassiz,  Schimper,  Imhoff,  and  other 
naturalists.  After  a  short  sojourn  in  Stuttgart,  Guyot  returned 
to  Neuchatel  in  1827.  Here,  under  the  preaching  of  the 
Reverend  Samuel  Petit-pierre,  he  turned  from  science  to  the- 
ology, and  began  to  prepare  himself  for  the  church,  although  his 
leisure  hours  were  still  spent  in  collecting  plants  and  shells,  and 
in  other  scientific  activities. 

In  1829  he  went  to  Berlin,  chiefly  to  attend  the  lectures  of 
Schleiermacher,  Neander  and  other  historians  and  theologians 
at  the  University  of  Berlin,  but  he  also  became  interested  in  those 
of  Hegel,  Steffens,  Hofmann,  Dove,  and  other  professors  of  the 
scientific  faculty,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  Humboldt. 
After  a  little  time  he  found  his  inclinations  toward  the  study  of 
nature  so  strong  that  he  abandoned  theology  for  natural  science. 
While  in  Berlin,  Carl  Ritter,  the  geographer,  made  an  especially 
strong  impression  on  him  and  turned  his  mind  in  the  direction  of 
geographical  studies.  At  the  end  of  five  years  at  the  University 
of  Berlin,  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  tak- 
ing as  the  subject  of  his  graduating  thesis  "  The  Natural  Classifi- 
cation of  Lakes." 

After  leaving  the  university,  he  went  to  Paris  and  became 
tutor  to  the  children  of  Count  de  Pourtales-Gorgier,  and  with 
them  he  visited  the  Pyrenees  and  travelled  in  Italy,  Belgium,  and 
Holland,  and  along  the  Rhine.  While  in  Paris  in  1838,  he  was 
urged  by  Agassiz  to  take  up  the  study  of  the  glaciers  of  the  Alps, 
to  which  he  himself  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  scientific 
world  the  preceding  year  by  the  announcement  of  his  glacial 
theory. 

Guyot  acceded  to  the  request  of  his  friend  and  spent  some 
weeks  in  an  examination  of  the  Alpine  glaciers.  He  made 
several  important  original  discoveries  regarding  their  structure 
and  action,  but  as  it  had  been  agreed  between  himself  and 
Agassiz  that  his  special  field  should  be  considered  to  be  the 
phenomena  of  the  Swiss  erratic  boulders,  his  results  were  with- 
held from  publication  for  forty  years.  He  did,  however,  present 
a  communication  on  the  "  blue  bands  "  of  glaciers  and  the  incli- 


144  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

nation  of  their  strata  before  the  Neuchatel  Society  of  Natural 
Sciences  in  December,  1841,  the  substance  of  which  was  cited  by 
Agassiz  in  his  "  Systeme  Glaciaire  "  in  1847. 

In  1839  Guyot  returned  from  Paris  to  Neuchatel,  joined  the 
Society  of  Natural  Sciences,  and  accepted  the  chair  of  history  and 
physical  geography  at  the  post-graduate  school  known  as  the 
"  Academy."  Here  he  remained  for  ten  years,  during  which 
time  he  engaged  in  extensive  investigations;  "  meteorologic, 
barometric,  hydrographic,  orographic  and  glacialistic."  For 
seven  years  his  principal  work  related  to  the  Swiss  erratic 
boulders.  His  results  were  to  have  appeared  in  the  second 
volume  of  Agassiz's  work  on  glaciers,  but  unfortunately  the 
enterprise  was  terminated  abruptly  by  the  outbreak  of  the 
revolution  of  1848.  The  Academy  was  suppressed,  and  the  pro- 
fessors, including  Guyot,  were  left  without  occupation.  Guyot 
was  urged  by  Agassiz  to  come  to  the  United  States,  which  he 
finally  decided  to  do.  He  arrived  in  August,  1848,  and  the 
following  winter  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  before  the  Lowell 
Institute  in  Boston  on  "  Comparative  Physical  Geography," 
which  he  spoke  of  as  "  a  brief  epitome  of  his  teaching  in 
Neuchatel."  They  were  delivered  in  French  and  afterward 
translated  into  English  by  Professor  Felton,  and  published  under 
the  title  of  "  Earth  and  Man." 

After  this  time  Guyot  was  occupied  for  six  years,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  in  lecturing 
to  teachers  on  geography  and  methods  of  teaching,  and  also 
prepared  a  series  of  geographies  and  maps  for  schools  which  had 
a  very  extensive  use  throughout  the  country. 

In  1854  Guyot  was  appointed  Professor  of  Physical  Geog- 
raphy and  Geology  at  Princeton.  Besides  carrying  on  his  pro- 
fessional duties,  he  lectured  in  the  State  Normal  School  of  New 
Jersey,  and  the  Princeton  and  Union  Theological  Seminaries. 
He  delivered  two  courses  of  lectures  at  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, one  in  1853  on  the  "  Harmonies  of  Nature  and  History," 
and  the  second  in  1862  on  "  Unity  of  Plan  in  the  System  of  Life." 
He  also  interested  himself  at  Princeton  in  organizing  a  museum, 


THE  INCORPORATORS  145 

which  Libbey  has  called  "  The  most  substantial  monument  that 
Professor  Guyot  has  left  behind  him  in  Princeton." 

Soon  after  coming  to  the  United  States,  Guyot  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Joseph  Henry,  who  consulted  him  regarding 
the  development  of  the  system  of  meteorological  observations, 
and  also  entrusted  him  with  obtaining  improved  instruments. 
He  prepared  directions  for  meteorological  observations  for  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  1850,  and  a  volume  of  meteorological 
and  physical  tables,  which  was  published  originally  in  1852,  and 
has  passed  through  several  editions.  Under  the  joint  auspices 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  State  governments  of 
New  York  and  Massachusetts,  Guyot  located  meteorological 
stations  throughout  the  States  mentioned.  In  1861,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  a  visit  to  Europe,  he  instituted  a  comparison  of  American 
and  European  barometers.  "  It  is  believed  that  these  compari- 
sons establish  a  correspondence  of  the  European  and  American 
standards  within  the  narrow  limit  of  one  or  two  thousandths  of 
an  inch."  (Henry.) 

For  thirty  years  Guyot  carried  on,  largely  with  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  extensive  barometric 
investigations  throughout  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  Atlantic 
slope,  from  the  White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire  to  the 
Smoky  Mountains  of  North  Carolina.  He  made  thousands  of 
barometric  measurements  of  altitudes,  including  those  of  Mount 
Washington  and  other  high  peaks,  which  were  remarkable  for 
their  exactness. 

He  died  at  Princeton  on  February  8,  1884. 

(From  JAMES  D.  DANA,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  2,  1880,  pp.  309-347.) 

JAMES  HALL 
Born,  September  12,  1811;  died,  August  7,  1898 

James  Hall  was  of  English  parentage,  and  was  born  in  Hing- 
ham,  Massachusetts,  on  September  12,  1811.  In  1831,  he  began 
studies  in  natural  history  under  Amos  Eaton  at  the  Rensselaer 
School  (now  the  Polytechnic  Institute)  in  Troy,  New  York, 


146  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

where  he  afterwards  occupied  the  chair  of  geology  until  1876, 
at  which  time  he  became  professor  emeritus.  He  was  appointed 
assistant  geologist  in  the  geological  survey  of  the  Fourth  District 
of  New  York  in  1836,  and  the  following  year,  as  geologist,  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  work  of  this  western  district.  He  pub- 
lished reports  annually  from  1838  to  1841,  and  in  1843  a  final 
report  in  quarto  form — one  of  the  series  of  volumes  on  the 
natural  history  of  the  State  printed  by  order  of  the  Legislature. 
In  this,  the  fossils,  the  lithological  characters  of  the  rocks,  and 
the  succession  of  the  strata  are  fully  described.  The  same  year 
Hall  was  appointed  paleontologist  of  the  State  and  continued  in 
that  position  until  1874.  The  principal  work  of  these  years  is 
embodied  in  the  eight  volumes  of  the  "  Paleontology  of  New 
York  "  which  has  been  described  as  "  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able monuments  of  scientific  labor,  zeal,  and  industry,  which  this 
country  has  produced."  In  order  to  trace  the  western  extension 
of  the  New  York  strata,  Hall  studied  the  formations  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  1855,  ^e  was 
appointed  Geologist  of  Iowa,  and  in  1857  Geologist  of  Wis- 
consin, and  the  results  of  his  western  investigations  are  largely 
embodied  in  the  reports  of  the  surveys  of  those  States.  In  1858, 
he  received  the  Wollaston  Medal  of  the  Geological  Society  of 
London,  of  which  he  was  a  foreign  member.  At  about  this  time 
he  took  up  the  study  of  the  graptolites  of  the  so-called  Quebec 
group,  and  in  1865  published  an  elaborate  monograph  in  the 
2oth  Report  of  the  New  York  Cabinet  of  Natural  History.  He 
was  the  Director  of  the  New  York  State  Museum  from  1866  to 

1893. 

In  1876,  he  aided  in  organizing  the  International  Congress  of 
Geologists,  and  was  Honorary  President  of  the  Congress  held 
in  Washington  in  1891.  He  was  also  the  first  President  of  the 
Geological  Society  of  America  in  1889. 

In  addition  to  his  work  on  the  paleontology  of  New  York, 
Professor  Hall  wrote  the  paleontological  portions  of  the  reports 
of  various  surveys  of  the  Western  Territories  under  the  Govern- 
ment, including  those  of  the  Fremont  Expedition,  the  Stansbury 


THE  INCORPORATORS  147 

Expedition,  and  the  first  United  States  and  Mexican  Boundary 
Survey.  He  also  contributed  many  papers  to  the  American 
Journal  of  Science  and  to  the  transactions  of  American  and 
foreign  scientific  societies. 

Besides  paleontological  investigations,  he  engaged  in  the  study 
of  the  crystalline  structure  of  the  rocks,  and  "  was  the  first  to 
point  out  the  persistence  and  the  significance  of  mineralogical 
characters  as  a  guide  to  their  classification."  He  also  devoted 
attention  to  questions  of  dynamic  geology,  especially  in  relation 
to  the  structure  of  mountain  ranges.  He  died  on  August  7,  1898, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven  years,  at  Echo  Hill,  New 
Hampshire. 

JOSEPH  HENRY 
Born,  December  17,  1799;  died  May  13,  1878 

The  life  of  Henry  may  be  properly  divided  into  three  periods ; 
his  early  years,  the  period  during  which  he  was  a  professor  in 
the  Albany  Academy  and  at  Princeton  University,  and  the  period 
during  which  he  was  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Simon  Newcomb  said  of  him  in  1880: 

"  Few  have  any  conception  of  the  breadth  of  the  field  occupied  by  Professor 
Henry's  researches,  or  of  the  number  of  scientific  enterprises  of  which  he  was 
either  the  originator  or  the  effective  supporter.  What,  under  the  circumstances, 
could  be  said  within  a  brief  space  to  show  what  the  world  owes  to  him  has 
already  been  so  well  said  by  others  that  it  would  be  impracticable  to  make  a  really 
new  presentation  without  writing  a  volume." 

Henry  was  born  on  December  17,  1799,  at  Albany,  New  York. 
He  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  both  his  maternal  and  paternal 
grandparents  came  to  New  York  at  the  same  time  in  1775.  His 
early  years  were  spent  at  Albany  and  at  Galway,  a  village  near 
Saratoga.  His  father  was  William  Henry,  his  mother  Annie 
Alexander,  an  aunt  of  Stephen  Alexander,  also  one  of  the  incor- 
porators  of  the  Academy. 

As  a  boy  he  was  imaginative.  His  mind  ran  on  romance  and 
adventure,  and  his  reading  was  made  up  largely  of  novels,  poetry 
and  plays.  He  even  organized  an  amateur  dramatic  company, 
and  took  part  as  an  actor  or  directed  the  acting  of  others.  When 


148  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

about  sixteen  years  old  a  copy  of  Gregory's  "  Lectures  on  Ex- 
perimental Philosophy,  Astronomy  and  Chemistry,  intended 
chiefly  for  the  Use  of  Young  Persons  "  fell  into  his  hands  and, 
"  although  by  no  means  a  profound  work,"  made  so  strong  an 
impression  on  him  that  he  at  once  resolved  to  devote  himself 
to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge.  He  attended  a  night  school,  and 
afterwards  the  Albany  Academy,  and  also  engaged  in  the  study 
of  medicine.  Having  occupied  himself  for  a  little  time  as  a 
private  tutor  and  a  surveyor,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  became 
Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  Albany  Academy. 

Here  in  1827  he  began  that  most  important  series  of  investi- 
gations which  in  a  few  years  placed  him  at  the  head  of  Ameri- 
can men  of  science.  In  1832  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Natural 
Philosophy  at  Princeton  University,  then  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  and  during  the  fourteen  years  in  which  he  occupied  this 
position,  all  his  spare  time  was  spent  in  original  research  in 
electro-magnetism,  the  results  of  which  were  published  at 
frequent  intervals.  Regarding  these  investigations  the  Academy 
registered  its  opinion  in  1876  in  the  following  terms : 

"  Resolved,  That  in  response  to  the  letter  of  the  British  Minister,  Sir  Edward 
Thornton,  asking  the  Academy  for  a  suggestion  as  to  the  names  and  services  of 
persons  considered  eligible  to  receive  the  Albert  Medal  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  to 
reward  '  distinguished  merit  in  promoting  arts,  manufacture,  or  commerce,'  the 
Academy  suggest  the  name  of  Professor  Joseph  Henry  as  most  worthy  of  all 
living  Americans  to  receive  that  recognition.  They  base  this  suggestion  upon  his 
distinguished  merit  in  the  following  respects,  viz. : 

"  i.  As  being  the  first  to  develop  the  power  of  the  electro-magnet  as  actuated 
by  an  intensity  or  a  quantity  battery. 

"  2.  As  the  first  to  apply  the  electro-magnet  in  the  invention  of  an  electro- 
magnetic telegraph. 

"3.  As  the  first  to  invent  a  machine  to  be  moved  by  electro-magnetism. 

"  4.  For  the  application  of  the  electro-telegraph  to  forecasting  the  weather. 

"  5.  For  the  plan  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men,  and  the  successful  development  of  this  plan  during  an 
administration  of  more  than  twenty-five  years  as  Scientific  Director  of  this 
Establishment. 

"  6.  For  the  improvement  in  fog-signals  in  connection  with  the  United  States 
Light  House  Board,  and  discoveries  in  sound."  3 

3  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  114,  April,  1876. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  149 

In  1846  Henry  resigned  from  Princeton  and  became  the  first 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  then  just  established. 
The  following  year  he  presented  his  plan  of  organization  and 
from  that  time  until  his  death  in  1878,  a  period  of  31  years, 
he  devoted  all  his  energies  to  its  practical  development,  whereby 
he  gained  an  unique  position  among  American  men  of  science 
and  made  the  Smithsonian  Institution  better  known  throughout 
the  world  than  any  other  American  institution.  "  His  original 
investigations  during  his  thirty  years  at  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion," remarks  Dr.  Goode,  "were  not  of  great  extent;  but  his 
influence,  not  only  upon  the  development  of  scientific  work  in 
the  United  States,  but  upon  its  character,  cannot  be  overestimated. 
His  official  position  brought  him  into  constant  contact,  either 
personally  or  by  letter,  with  all  in  the  United  States  who  were 
engaged  in  scientific  work,  and  the  inspiration  and  direct  control 
which  he  exercised  were  constant  and  far-reaching."  Such 
researches  and  studies  as  he  undertook  had  their  origin  chiefly 
in  problems  encountered  or  brought  to  his  attention  in  the  course 
of  his  administrative  work.  They  related  to  a  great  variety  of 
subjects — acoustics,  meteorology,  education,  the  phenomena  of 
physical  and  organic  forces,  evolution,  the  qualities  of  building 
materials  and  of  illuminating  oils,  etc. 

In  1852  he  was  appointed  by  President  Fillmore  a  member  of 
the  Lighthouse  Board.  Early  in  the  Civil  War  he,  with  Pro- 
fessor Bache  and  Admiral  Davis,  was  appointed  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  on  the  commission  to  investigate  various  practical 
questions  connected  with  the  operations  of  the  Navy.  It  was  the 
work  of  this  commission  that  appears  to  have  suggested  the 
organization  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  the  form 
which  it  finally  assumed.  Henry,  according  to  his  own  utter- 
ances, did  not  take  part  in  its  organization  but  he  was  one  of  the 
charter  members  and  the  chairman  of  the  first  committee  of  the 
Academy,  that  on  weights,  measures  and  coinage.  In  1866  he 
was  elected  Vice-President,  and  in  1868  became  President,  his 
term  of  office  extending  over  eleven  years. 

(From  SIMON  NEWCOMB,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  5,  1905,  pp.  1-45,  and  G.  BROWN  GOODE,  in  "  The  Smithsonian 


150  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Institution,  1846-1896,  the  History  of  Its  First  Half  Century,"  Washington, 
1896,  p.  115.  See  also  the  sketch  by  WM.  B.  TAYLOR,  entitled  "  A  Memoir  of 
Joseph  Henry,"  in  Bulletin  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Washington,  vol.  2,  pp. 
230,  and  368,  1879;  and  that  by  JAMES  C.  WELLING,  entitled,  "  Notes  on  the  life 
and  character  of  Joseph  Henry,"  in  the  same  publication,  pp.  203-229.) 

JULIUS  ERASMUS  HILGARD 
Born,  January  7,  1825;  died,  May  9,  1890 

Julius  Erasmus  Hilgard  was  born  at  Zweibriicken,  Rhenish 
Bavaria,  January  7,  1825.  His  father,  Theodore  Erasmus  Hil- 
gard, was  for  many  years  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
but  on  account  of  his  liberal  opinions  was  so  dissatisfied  with  con- 
ditions in  his  native  country  that  in  1835  he  emigrated  to  America. 
The  journey  from  his  native  place  to  Havre  was  made  in  wagons. 
After  a  voyage  of  62  days,  the  family  landed  at  New  Orleans  at 
Christmas,  and  journeyed  up  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Louis,  and 
thence  to  a  farm  at  Belleville,  Illinois.  As  the  oldest  son,  Julius 
gave  valuable  help  by  his  practical  talents.  His  education  was 
carried  on  at  home.  Music,  chemistry,  ancient  and  modern  lan- 
guages and  mathematics  (the  higher  branches  of  the  latter  being 
studied  without  outside  help),  occupied  his  attention  until  1843, 
when  he  went  to  Philadelphia  to  study  engineering  and  to  obtain 
employment.  In  that  city  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Professor 
Bache,  and  commenced  a  life-long  friendship  with  Elisha  Kent 
Kane,  the  arctic  explorer. 

The  first  work  obtained  was  in  the  preliminary  surveys  of  the 
Bear  Mountain  Railroad.  Soon,  however,  Professor  Bache, 
recognizing  his  abilities,  procured  young  Hilgard  a  position  in 
the  Coast  Survey,  in  which  service  he  continued,  with  short  inter- 
ruptions, until  his  death.  In  the  field  work,  in  computations  and 
investigations  in  the  office,  in  the  publication  of  the  records  and 
results  of  the  Survey,  in  his  influence  on  political  leaders,  Mr. 
Hilgard  rendered  highly  intelligent  and  valuable  aid  to  the  ser- 
vice. During  the  failing  health  of  Professor  Bache,  Hilgard,  who 
was  at  that  time  in  charge  of  the  Coast  Survey  office,  was  obliged 
to  perform  the  duties  of  Superintendent,  which  he  did  without 


THE  INCORPORATORS  151 

extra  compensation  until  the  appointment  of  Benjamin  Peirce 
to  the  position.  Though  it  seems  fitting  that  Hilgard  should 
have  become  Superintendent  upon  the  death  of  Bache,  he  did 
not  receive  the  appointment  until  1881.  At  that  time  his  health 
was  so  impaired  that,  as  he  said,  "  it  came  too  late."  He  was 
soon  forced  to  resign.  While  Assistant  Superintendent,  his  work 
in  the  Office  of  Weights  and  Measures  gained  him  most  favor- 
able notice  in  Europe  and  he  was  invited  to  the  directorship  of 
an  International  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures  about  to  be 
established  in  Paris.  Declining  this,  but  continuing  his  con- 
nection with  the  International  Committee,  a  beautiful  Sevres 
vase  was  presented  to  him  by  President  Thiers  on  behalf  of  the 
French  Government  in  recognition  of  his  services.  He  also  had 
great  satisfaction  in  being  instrumental  in  bringing  to  a  successful 
ending  the  operations  for  the  telegraphic  determination  of  trans- 
atlantic longitudes. 

Among  his  other  valuable  services,  Hilgard  delivered  in  1876 
a  course  of  twenty  lectures  at  Johns  Hopkins  University  on  the 
subject  of  "  Extended  Territorial  Surveying." 

Resigning  his  position  in  July,,  1885,  he  lived  in  retirement  for 
five  years,  and  died  at  Washington,  May  9,  1890. 

(From  E.  W.  HILGARD,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  3,  1895,  pp.  327-338.) 

EDWARD  HITCHCOCK 

Born,  May  24,  1793  ;  died,  February  27,  1864 

Edward  Hitchcock  was  born  in  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  in 
1793.  His  parents  were  intellectual,  high-minded,  and  deeply 
religious  people,  and  from  them  he  inherited  on  the  one  hand 
his  interest  in  religion  and  theology,  and  on  the  other  his  love 
of  learning,  and  the  inquiring  turn  of  mind  which  early  in  life 
led  to  a  persevering  study  of  science.  He  began  teaching  when 
only  22  years  of  age,  first  in  his  native  town,  and  later  in  Conway, 
Massachusetts.  Ten  years  later,  at  the  age  of  32,  he  became  Pro- 


NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

fessor  of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History  at  Amherst  College. 
Although  interested  in  many  subjects,  he  devoted  almost  all  of 
his  time  to  geology,  and  in  1830  was  made  chief  of  the  Geologi- 
cal Survey  of  Massachusetts.  In  1836,  he  was  appointed  Geol- 
ogist of  the  First  District  of  New  York,  and  in  1857,  State 
Geologist  of  Vermont.  Dr.  Hitchcock  was  the  first  to  suggest 
and  carry  on  the  survey  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  which 
was  the  first,  not  only  in  the  long  series  of  surveys  subsequently 
carried  on  in  the  United  States,  but  the  first  survey  of  an  entire 
State  under  government  authority  inaugurated  anywhere  in  the 
world.  For  his  extensive  and  important  work  in  geology  he 
received  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Harvard 
at  the  age  of  47.  His  name  will  always  be  closely  associated  with 
the  beginnings  of  geology  in  this  country.  He  has,  indeed,  been 
called  one  of  the  fathers  of  American  geology.  He  was  the 
first  to  give  a  scientific  exposition  of  the  so-called  "  bird  tracks  " 
in  the  Red  Sandstone  of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  and  this  new 
science,  which  began  with  him,  he  termed  ornithichnology. 
The  paper  was  published  in  1836,  and  was  followed  from  year 
to  year  by  descriptions  of  his  investigations,  tables  of  species  and 
other  articles. 

In  1840  he  was  elected  the  first  President  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  which  was  organ- 
ized at  that  time,  and  in  1845  was  made  President  of  Amherst 
College,  and  Professor  of  Natural  Theology  and  Geology, 
which  positions  he  held  until  1854.  His  life  was  closely  con- 
nected with  Amherst,  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  college, 
and  in  his  own  presidency  he  established  it  on  a  firm  financial 
footing,  besides  elevating  the  standard  of  study.  He  also  pro- 
cured for  it  a  number  of  buildings,  increased  and  improved  the 
equipment,  and  enlarged  the  number  of  students.  He  died  the 
year  after  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  was  organized. 

(From  J.  P.  LESLEY,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  113-134.) 


THE  INCORPORATORS  153 

JOSEPH  STILLMAN  HUBBARD 

Born,  September  7,  1823;  died,  August  16,  1863 

As  Hubbard  died  within  a  few  months  after  the  Academy  was 
formed,  his  influence  upon  that  organization  was,  of  course,  but 
slight.  It  is  of  interest,  however,  to  summarize  his  scientific 
labors  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  show  why  he  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  Academy. 

Hubbard's  family  settled  in  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  in  1635, 
but  afterwards  moved  to  Meridian  and  New  Haven,  Con- 
necticut. His  ancestors  were  for  the  most  part  clergymen  and 
physicians,  and  several  of  them  held  important  public  offices. 

As  a  boy,  Hubbard  showed  a  decided  taste  for  mechanics  and 
astronomy.  He  was  graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1843  and 
the  following  year  went  to  Philadelphia  as  assistant  to  the  astron- 
omer Walker  in  the  High  School  Observatory,  working  with 
such  zeal  as  to  seriously  impair  his  health.  After  some  months 
he  went  to  Washington  and  computed  the  observations  made  by 
Fremont  on  his  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the 
Pacific  Coast.  The  next  year  (1845),  he  was  appointed  a  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics  in  the  Navy  and  assigned  to  duty  at  the 
Naval  Observatory. 

Here  he  made  observations  for  several  years  with  the  transit 
instrument  and  meridian  circle,  working  particularly  on  a 
system  of  zone  observations  devised  by  Professor  Coffin  and  him- 
self. These  observations  were  interrupted  soon  after  1850,  but 
taken  up  again  in  1862  and  continued  by  Hubbard  until  his 
death. 

His  first  extended  computation  consisted  in  the  determination 
of  the  zodiacs  of  all  the  known  asteroids.  This  was  followed 
by  a  study  of  the  orbit  of  the  great  comet  of  1843.  In  1846 
Hubbard  began  an  extended  investigation  of  the  peculiar 
phenomena  presented  by  Biela's  comet,  and  later  published  three 
memoirs  relating  to  them.  He  also  undertook  an  investigation 
of  the  Fourth  Comet  of  1825. 

Hubbard  was  deeply  interested  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Astronomical  Journal,  and  his  contributions  to  it  occupy  more 


154  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

than  200  columns.  His  astronomical  calculations  also  fill 
many  pages  of  the  Washington  Observations.  One  of  his  last 
researches  related  to  the  magnetism  of  iron  ships,  a  subject  which 
a  committee  of  the  Academy  afterwards  investigated  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Navy  Department. 

Hubbard  was  present  at  the  meeting  in  New  York  at  which 
the  Academy  was  organized  and  welcomed  its  inauguration 
in  his  enthusiastic  manner  as  "  the  most  important  epoch  ever 
witnessed  by  science  in  America."  He  was  not  destined,  how- 
ever, to  contribute  to  its  developments  as  he  died  a  few  months 
later,  his  demise  having  been  hastened,  as  some  have  believed, 
by  the  unhealthy  surroundings  of  the  old  Naval  Observatory  at 
Washington  in  which  he  labored. 

(From  B.  A.  GOULD,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  1-34.) 

ANDREW  ATKINSON  HUMPHREYS 
Born,  November  2,  1810;  died,  December  27,  1883 

Andrew  Atkinson  Humphreys  was  of  Welsh  ancestry.  He 
came  from  a  family  of  naval  constructors — his  grandfather  hav- 
ing been  the  architect  of  the  Constitution,  and  her  five  sister  frig- 
ates. After  his  graduation  from  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  Lieutenant  Humphreys  was  assigned  to  the  Second 
Artillery,  and  served  in  the  South,  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
Florida  War.  Resigning  his  commission  on  account  of  impaired 
health,  he  served  for  two  years  as  a  civil  engineer  under  Major 
Hartman  Bache.  On  July  8,  1838,  he  became  assistant  in  the 
Bureau  of  Topographical  Engineers  at  Washington.  While  in 
this  position  he  prepared  the  first  project  for  the  extension  of  the 
National  Capitol.  In  1844  he  was  detailed  as  assistant  in  charge 
of  the  Coast  Survey  Office.  After  eighteen  years  of  work  in  his 
profession  he  entered  upon  the  great  labors  of  original  research 
and  administrative  direction,  which  have  made  his  name  illustri- 
ous. The  Government  having  turned  its  attention  to  the  ques- 
tion of  reclaiming  the  lands  along  the  Mississippi  subject  to 
inundation,  and  subsequently  making  two  appropriations  of 


THE  INCORPORATORS  155 

$50,000  each,  the  Delta  Survey  was  formed,  and  Captain 
Humphreys  undertook  with  what  would  now  be  considered 
inadequate  means,  the  task  of  solving  the  problems  of  controlling 
the  mighty  river,  which  the  sufferers  from  flood  personified 
as  "  an  evil  spirit,  which  periodically  reared  his  tawny  front 
from  the  chasm  where  he  writhed  in  uneasy  slumber  at  low 
water."  "  Captain  Humphreys  conducted  for  ten  years  a  series 
of  researches  which  accomplished  their  object,  and  which  have 
placed  his  name  high  on  the  list  of  the  distinguished  hydraulic 
engineers  of  the  world."  (Abbot.)  His  arduous  labors  per- 
formed under  a  burning  sun,  caused  a  "  coup  de  soleil  "  in  the 
summer  of  1851,  which  obliged  him  to  suspend  work.  When 
somewhat  recovered,  he  obtained  permission  to  visit  Europe  for 
the  purpose  of  studying  methods  of  protection  against  inundation 
and  returned  in  1 854  ready  to  renew  operations  on  the  Mississippi. 
In  the  meantime,  however,  the  question  of  a  railroad  to  the 
Pacific  Coast  had  arisen,  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  appreciating 
Humphreys'  great  ability,  insisted  upon  having  him  as  his  con- 
fidential adviser.  In  this  work,  and  in  preparing  reports  on  the 
Mississippi  enterprise,  he  was  occupied  until  the  Civil  War. 
He  served  throughout  that  war  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  rose  to  the  command  of  an  Army  corps.  The  two  corps 
of  engineers  having  been  consolidated  during  the  war,  he  was  ap- 
pointed brigadier-general  and  chief  of  engineers,  discharging 
the  duties  of  this  office  until,  at  his  own  request,  he  was  placed 
on  the  retired  list  on  June  30,  1879.  After  his  retirement  he 
contributed  to  the  Scribner's  Series  a  history  of  his  campaigns  in 
two  small  volumes  based  on  an  analysis  of  the  official  records  of 
both  armies,  that  has  been  said  by  General  Abbot  "  to  be  worthy 
of  a  place  beside  Caesar's  Commentaries  or  Xenophon's  Ana- 
basis." 

In  1857  General  Humphreys  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society.  He  was  also  an  honorary 
member  of  the  Imperial  Geological  Institute  of  Vienna,  and  a 
fellow  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 


156  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Subsequent  to  1863  when  he  became  one  of  the  incorporate rs  of 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  many  honors  and  degrees 
were  conferred  on  him  at  home  and  abroad.  General  Abbot 
remarks  that  the  keynote  to  his  whole  life  may  be  found  in  his  own 
words:  "  I  cannot  understand  how  any  man  can  be  willing  to 
assume  charge  of  a  work  without  making  it  his  business  to  know 
everything  about  it  from  A  to  Izzard." 

(From  HENRY  L.  ABBOT,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  2,  1886,  pp.  201-215.) 

JOHN  LAWRENCE  LE  CONTE 
Born,  May  13,  1825;  died,  November  15,  1883 

Among  the  many  families  of  Huguenots  who  fled  from 
France  after  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  may  be  found 
the  name  of  LeConte.  The  family  was  of  noble  birth  and 
possessed  of  wealth,  and  no  small  number  of  its  members  had 
that  spirit  of  scientific  investigation,  which  characterized  so 
many  of  the  refugees.  John  Lawrence  LeConte  traced  his 
descent  from  Guillaume  LeConte  who  was  born  in  Rouen  in 
1859.  John  Lawrence  LeConte  was  born  in  New  York,  May  13, 
1825.  After  taking  a  collegiate  course  at  St.  Mary's  College  in 
Emmettsburg,  Maryland,  he  entered  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  in  New  York,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
1846. 

Possessing  an  independent  fortune,  he  practiced  his  profession 
but  to  a  limited  extent,  though  during  the  Civil  War  he  entered 
the  army  medical  corps  of  the  volunteers,  becoming  medical 
inspector,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  After  this,  he 
held  no  regular  position  until  1878,  when  he  became  connected 
with  the  United  States  Mint  in  Philadelphia,  remaining  there 
until  his  death  on  November  15,  1883. 

As  early  as  1848,  Dr.  LeConte  made  several  journeys  to  Lake 
Superior  and  California  to  study  the  fauna,  and  later  travelled 
more  extensively,  visiting  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Honduras  and 
Panama,  Europe,  Egypt  and  Algiers.  He  inherited  from  his 
father  a  taste  for  natural  history  and  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen 


THE  INCORPORATORS  1 57 

he  published  a  paper  describing  over  twenty  new  species  of 
Carabid  beetles  from  the  eastern  United  States. 

His  attention  was  next  drawn  to  certain  anomalies  of  geo- 
graphical distribution  and  his  extensive  studies  of  the  problems 
resulted  in  the  publication  of  several  important  papers  on  that 
general  subject.  Dr.  LeConte's  father  had  made  the  Coleoptera 
his  favorite  study  and  had  also  published  papers  on  mammals, 
reptiles,  batrachians,  and  crustaceans.  He  had  collected  a  large 
amount  of  material  relating  to  the  natural  history  of  our  insects, 
and  made  a  series  of  water-color  illustrations  of  them  and  also 
of  plants.  The  son  carried  on  the  work  thus  begun,  and  during 
his  lifetime  published  more  than  60  monographic  essays — some 
of  them  large  works — on  the  Coleoptera  and  other  groups  of 
insects,  investigating  as  far  as  practicable  all  the  various 
phenomena  connected  with  their  life-histories.  He  devoted 
himself  especially  to  systematic  work,  in  a  manner  new  in 
America  in  his  time,  defining  more  than  1,100  of  the  higher 
groups,  and  forming  nearly  250  synoptic  or  analytic  tables. 
Half  of  the  Coleoptera  of  the  United  States  were  described  by 
him  for  the  first  time.  So  extensive  and  important  was  his  work 
that  he  may  with  safety  be  called  the  greatest  of  American  ento- 
mologists. That  he  was  so  regarded  abroad  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  he  became  an  honorary  member  in  all  the  older  and 
larger  entomological  societies  of  Europe. 

In  1 86 1,  as  the  result  of  many  years  of  systematic  study  of 
American  beetles,  he  published  the  first  part  of  a  classification 
of  the  Coleoptera  of  North  America,  the  second  part  appearing 
the  following  year,  and  in  1873,  a  third  part  of  the  same  work. 
In  the  meantime,  he  had  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 
Rhynchophora,  or  weevils,  represented  a  quite  distinct  group 
of  Coleoptera,  and  in  1876,  in  association  with  Dr.  Horn,  his 
former  pupil,  he  published  a  thorough  monographic  revision  of 
this  group,  which  completely  revolutionized  the  accepted  classi- 
fication of  the  day.  Finally,  in  1883,  a  few  months  before  his 
death,  he  published  (also  with  Dr.  Horn  as  joint  author)  a  new 


I $8  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  Classification  of  the  Coleoptera  of  the  United  States,"  in  which 
much  of  his  previous  work  was  revised  and  brought  up  to  date. 

Between  1848  and  1857,  Dr.  LeConte  published  minor  essays 
on  geology,  on  radiates,  on  recent  and  fossil  mammals,  and  on 
ethnology,  thus  showing  the  wide  range  of  his  scientific  studies 
and  investigations.  While  accepting  the  modern  evolutionary 
philosophy,  he  still  believed,  as  he  expressed  it,  in  the  "  Prov- 
idence which  presides  over  and  directs  the  system  of  evolution." 

In  his  private  life  his  friends  speak  of  him  as "  a  cultured 
scholar,  a  refined  gentleman,  a  genial  companion,  a  true  friend." 

(From  SAMUEL  H.  SCUDDER,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  2,  1886,  pp.  261-293.) 

JOSEPH  LEIDY 
Born,  September  9,  1823;  died,  April  30,  1891 

At  the  memorial  meeting  held  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Dr.  Joseph  Leidy's  scientific  career  was  commemorated 
under  five  heads:  "  Work  in  Vertebrate  Anatomy  ";  "  Work  in 
Invertebrate  Anatomy  " ;  "  Work  in  Paleontology  and  Geol- 
ogy " ;  "  Work  in  Mineralogy  " ;  "  Work  in  Botany."  The  cata- 
logue of  his  writings  contains  five  hundred  and  fifty-three  titles,  a 
remarkable  contribution  to  scientific  literature.  This  many-sided 
scientist,  "  almost  the  sole  survivor  of  that  class  of  intellectual 
giants  which  seemed  able  to  assimilate  as  much  as  Science  in  her 
many  forms  could  produce,"  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on  Sep- 
tember 9,  1823.  He  was  the  son  of  Philip  Leidy.  At  an  early  age 
he  showed  a  taste  for  the  study  of  nature  and  a  talent  for  drawing. 
He  began  the  study  of  medicine  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and 
received  his  degree  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1844, 
immediately  after  which  he  was  appointed  Prosector  to  the  chair 
of  anatomy  under  Professor  Horner.  With  the  exception  of  one 
year,  when  he  followed  his  teacher,  Dr.  Paul  M.  Goddard,  to 
the  Franklin  Medical  College,  Dr.  Leidy  continued  his  con- 
nection with  the  University  during  his  life.  At  the  death  of 
Dr.  Horner,  in  1853,  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Anatomy  and 
held  that  position  for  thirty-eight  years.  In  1871  he  became  Pro- 


THE  INCORPORATORS  1 59 

fessor  of  Natural  History  in  Swarthmore  College,  in  Swarth- 
more,  Pennsylvania. 

In  1 88 1  he  was  chosen  President  of  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences  of  Philadelphia;  in  1884,  Director  of  the  Biological 
Department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  and  in  1886, 
President  of  the  Wagner  Free  Institute.  Among  the  honors 
he  received  at  this  period  should  be  mentioned  the  Walker 
Prize  (which  was  doubled  in  special  recognition  of  his  services) , 
the  prize  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society,  the  Lyell  Medal 
of  the  Royal  Geological  Society,  and  the  Cuvier  Medal  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris. 

"  The  bare  enumeration  of  his  published  works,  extensive  in 
length  and  in  variety  though  it  be,  would  give  those  who  had 
never  seen  this  great  naturalist  no  idea  of  the  man  or  of  the 
source  of  this  combination  of  versatility  and  accuracy  which 
rendered  almost  every  observation  he  made  directly  or  indi- 
rectly an  addition  to  science.  In  all  that  pertained  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  facts  and  to  coordinating  them  afterwards  he  made  of 
himself  a  perfect  machine  in  so  far  as  he  was  insensible  to  and 
unaffected  by  the  ordinary  passions  of  ambition  or  rivalry  which 
influence  even  the  best  scientists.  He  had  a  marvelous  eye  for 
noting  the  minutest  phenomena  and  appreciating  the  most 
insensible  differences ;  he  had  an  unusually  retentive  memory  for 
recording  and  keeping  in  order  the  vast  fund  of  his  observations 
and  the  records  of  those  made  by  others;  and  he  was  conscious 
of  the  limitations  of  pure  inductive  philosophy  to  an  extent 
which  made  the  conclusions  reached  by  him  safe."  (Frazer.) 

During  the  Civil  War  Dr.  Leidy  acted  as  surgeon  of  the 
Satterlee  Hospital  in  Philadelphia.  Leidy's  name  is  not  only 
remembered  by  his  remarkable  contributions  to  anatomy, 
paleontology,  and  other  sciences,  but  in  the  lofty  Rockies  stands 
"  Mt.  Leidy,"  named  by  Dr.  Hayden,  the  distinguished  explorer 
and  geologist;  and  "  Cape  Leidy,"  on  the  coast  of  Grinnell  Land 
is  a  token  of  the  devotion  of  Drs.  Kane  and  Hayes  to  their  college 
friend. 


160  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

The  love  of  flowers  and  of  gems  was  a  feature  of  Dr.  Leidy's 
character.  His  knowledge  of  them  often  served  to  correct  errors 
that  had  crept  into  collections  as  well  as  to  entertain  his  friends. 
No  one  loved  social  intercourse  better  than  he,  and  his  conver- 
sation was  always  instructive  and  charming. 

He  died  in  his  native  city  on  April  30,  1891. 

(From  PERSIFOR  FRAZER,  "  Joseph  Leidy,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,"  in  the  American 
Geologist,  January,  1892.  See  also  WILLIAM  HUNT,  "  An  Address  Upon  the 
Late  Joseph  Leidy,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,"  Philadelphia,  1892;  and  "  In  Memoriam, 
Dr.  Joseph  Leidy,  Personal  History,"  read  before  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences,  Philadelphia,  May  12,  1891;  HENRY  F.  OSBORN,  "Joseph  Leidy,"  in 
Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  7,  p.  335.) 

J.  PETER  LESLEY 
Born,  September  17,  1819;  died  June  I,   1903 

Peter  Lesley,  the  fourth  of  that  name,  was  born  at  Phila- 
delphia on  September  17,  1819.  The  first  Peter  Lesley  was 
remembered  as  the  "  Miller  of  Fifeshire,"  and  his  descendants 
were  of  mingled  Scotch  and  German  blood  and  were  noted  for 
their  practical  traits  and  thorough  education.  It  appears  to 
have  been  Lesley's  father's  intention  to  prepare  him  for  the 
church,  but  his  health  was  so  precarious  while  he  was  in  college 
that  an  out-of-door  life  was  imperative.  Through  the  inter- 
position of  Professor  Bache,  he  obtained  appointment  in  1838  as 
an  assistant  on  the  first  Geological  Survey  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
personal  knowledge  of  the  poor  and  ignorant  German  settlers, 
which  he  obtained  during  two  seasons  spent  in  the  field,  turned 
Lesley's  thoughts  toward  missionary  work,  and  in  1841  he 
entered  the  Princeton  Theological  School.  After  studying  three 
years  and  obtaining  his  license,  he  determined  on  a  trip  to 
Europe,  largely  to  perfect  his  knowledge  of  German.  He 
travelled  on  foot  through  England  and  France  and  afterwards 
through  Switzerland,  where  the  geological  features  of  the 
country  aroused  his  strongest  interest.  He  then  settled  at  Halle 
to  study  German,  and  also  attended  the  lectures  of  Tholuck  and 
other  theologians. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  161 

On  his  return  to  America  in  1845,  he  spent  two  years  in  mis- 
sionary work  in  Pennsylvania,  after  which  he  was  invited  to  assist 
Professor  H.  D.  Rogers  in  Boston  in  preparing  a  map  of 
Pennsylvania,  showing  the  work  of  the  first  geological  survey  of 
the  State.  After  a  winter  spent  in  Boston,  Lesley  was  for  three 
years  pastor  of  a  church  in  Milton,  Massachusetts,  at  the  end  of 
which  time,  his  religious  views  having  undergone  a  change 
which  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  remain  a  clergyman,  he 
resigned  his  parish  in  May,  1852,  and  went  to  Philadelphia. 
Afterwards  he  was  engaged  for  a  period  of  about  ten  years  in 
surveys  of  iron,  coal  and  oil  fields  for  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road and  other  companies,  as  well  as  on  his  own  account.  During 
the  summer  of  1855,  Lesley  performed  a  notable  piece  of  geolog- 
ical work,  consisting  of  a  survey  of  the  Broad  Top  Mountain 
region  of  central  Pennsylvania,  which  included  a  contour-line 
map  of  the  semi-bituminous  coal-field,  "  with  over  eleven  thou- 
sand stations  levelled."  In  1856,  he  became  Secretary  of  the 
American  Iron  Association,  which  necessitated  his  visiting  all 
the  iron  works  of  the  United  States.  He  published  at  this  time 
a  large  volume  of  statistics  of  the  iron  industries,  also  the  "  Iron 
Manufacturers'  Guide,"  and  his  "  Coal  Manual." 

In  1858  he  was  elected  librarian  of  the  American  Philosophi- 
cal Society,  which  position  he  held  for  twenty-five  years,  giving 
much  time  and  attention  to  the  duties  of  the  office.  In  1860  he 
became  interested  in  a  process  for  the  desulphurization  of  coal, 
but  it  was  not  financially  successful,  and  he  confined  his  energies 
thereafter  to  scientific  and  literary  work.  In  1862  and  1863  he 
was  engaged  in  surveying  at  Glace  Bay,  on  the  coast  of  Cape 
Breton,  and  in  the  latter  year  made  a  trip  to  Europe  to  study  the 
Bessemer  steel  process. 

During  the  season  of  1865-66,  Lesley  delivered  a  course  of 
lectures  before  the  Lowell  Institute  in  Boston,  choosing  for  his 
subject  "  Man's  Origin  and  Destiny." 

Ill  health  again  obliged  him  to  desist  from  work,  and  he  spent 
a  year  in  Europe  and  a  winter  on  the  Nile.  After  his  return, 
in  1869,  he  became  editor  of  the  United  States  Railroad  and 


1 62  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Mining  Register,  and  from  that  time  until  1872  was  engaged 
chiefly  in  surveys  in  the  South.  In  the  latter  year  he  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Geology  in  the  School  of  Mines  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  the  organization  of  the  Towne 
Scientific  School  Professor  Lesley  took  great  delight  and  gave 
much  time  and  thought  to  his  teaching,  which  was  always  a 
favorite  work,  and  aroused  enthusiasm  in  his  pupils. 

The  crowning  event  of  his  life  was,  however,  his  appointment 
to  the  office  of  State  Geologist  of  Pennsylvania,  which  occurred 
in  1874.  The  second  Geological  Survey  of  Pennsylvania  was  an 
undertaking  of  great  magnitude  and  extended  over  a  period  of 
20  years.  Lesley  organized  it  with  much  care,  and  had  as  his 
assistants  Frazer,  Stevenson,  Prince,  Chance,  D'Invilliers,  Genth, 
and  many  other  geologists  and  chemists.  To  the  publication  of 
results  he  gave  the  closest  personal  attention.  His  system  was 
to  publish  numerous  "  reports  of  progress,"  each  containing  all 
the  data  relating  to  a  single  district  or  county.  More  than  a 
hundred  such  volumes  were  issued,  and  at  the  end  a  final  report 
summarizing  the  whole.  He  had  nearly  finished  this  latter  work 
when  in  1893  ms  health  gave  way  completely,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  desist.  Sir  Archibald  Geikie  said  of  the  survey  in  a  letter 
written  at  this  time  "  It  is  in  my  opinion  a  monument  of  patient 
skill,  thoughtfully  organized,  sympathetically  carried  on,  and 
admirably  co-ordinated,  through  all  its  branches  and  all  its  prog- 
ress. I  think  it  will  be  of  the  utmost  value  industrially  to  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania." 

Lesley  remained  some  years  in  Philadelphia,  and  afterwards 
returned  once  more  to  Milton,  Massachusetts,  where  he  died  in 
June,  1903. 

(From  MARY  LESLEY  AMES,  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Peter  and  Susan  Lesley," 
1909.) 

MIERS  FISHER  LONGSTRETH 
Born,  March  15,  1819;  died,  December  27,  1891 

Longstreth  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1819.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  his  early  life 
was  spent  as  a  merchant.  He  devoted  his  leisure  hours,  however, 


THE  INCORPORATORS  163 

to  the  study  of  astronomy,  and  had  charge  of  the  Friends'  Observ- 
atory on  Cherry  Street,  Philadelphia,  until  1856.  He  entered 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  graduated  from  the 
medical  department.  Afterwards  he  removed  to  Sharon  Hill, 
Pennsylvania,  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  He 
still  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  astronomy,  and  wrote  many 
valuable  papers  relating  to  that  branch  of  science.  These  were 
published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  of  which  Dr.  Longstreth  had  been  a  member  since  1848. 
He  was  of  a  retiring  disposition  and  declined  public  office.  For 
forty  years,  however,  he  served  on  private  and  public  educational 
boards. 

DENNIS  HART  MAHAN 
Born,  April  2,  1802;  died,  September  16,  1871 

Dennis  Hart  Mahan  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  but 
his  parents  soon  moved  to  Norfolk,  Virginia,  where  his  boyhood 
was  spent.  He  was  brought  up  with  the  idea  that  he  would  be  a 
physician,  but  having  a  talent  for  drawing,  and  learning  that 
this  was  taught  at  West  Point,  he  sought  and,  through  the  good 
offices  of  a  friend  of  the  family,  obtained  admission  into  the 
Military  Academy.  From  this  institution  he  was  graduated  in 
1824,  at  the  head  of  his  class,  which  numbered  thirty-one  students. 
In  his  third  year  at  the  Academy  he  was  appointed  Acting  Assist- 
ant Professor  of  Mathematics.  Following  graduation  he  became 
a  lieutenant  in  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  and  after  holding  the  posi- 
tion of  instructor  for  two  years  in  the  Academy  was  sent  to  Europe 
to  study  engineering  works  and  military  institutions.  In  France, 
by  special  permission  of  the  Government,  he  studied  for  more 
than  a  year  in  the  military  school  at  Metz,  and  became  associated 
with  many  prominent  French  military  engineers  and  artillerists, 
and  was  often  the  guest  of  the  family  of  Lafayette. 

He  returned  to  America  in  1830  and  was  detailed  as  acting 
professor  at  West  Point.  Two  years  later  he  vacated  his  com- 
mission in  the  Engineer  Corps,  and  became  Professor  of  Civil  and 
Military  Engineering.  In  this  important  position  he  remained 


164  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

for  a  period  of  more  than  forty-one  years,  during  which  both 
the  Mexican  War  and  the  Civil  War  occurred.  "  His  teachings 
bore  glorious  fruit  upon  the  fields  of  Mexico,"  and  during  the 
Civil  War,  "  with  hardly  an  exception  on  either  side,  those  who 
had  studied  under  Professor  Mahan  had  won  the  highest 
laurels."  (Abbot.) 

Mahan  published  many  text-books  on  civil  and  military 
engineering.  These  comprised  a  "  Treatise  on  Field  Fortifica- 
tions "  (1836),  "  Course  of  Civil  Engineering"  (1837),  one  on 
"  Permanent  Fortifications,"  "  Advanced  Guard,  Outpost  and 
Detachment  Service  of  Troops  "  (1847),  "  Industrial  Drawing  " 
(1855),  and  "Treatise  on  Fortification  Drawing  and  Stere- 
otomy  "  (1865).  Some  of  these  works  passed  through  several 
editions.  His  treatise  on  civil  engineering  was  reprinted  in 
England  and  also  translated  into  several  foreign  languages. 
Professor  Mahan  also  published  an  American  edition  of 
Moseley's  "  Mechanical  Principles  of  Engineering,"  in  which 
many  of  his  own  ideas  were  incorporated.  This  was  originally 
published  in  1856  and  reprinted  in  1869. 

In  1871,  on  account  of  his  advanced  age  and  impaired  health 
he  was  recommended  by  the  board  of  visitors  to  the  Academy 
for  retirement,  and  although  the  President  gave  him  assurances 
that  no  action  would  be  taken  on  the  recommendation,  he  was  so 
deeply  wounded  in  spirit  that  overcome  by  dejection  he  threw 
himself  from  the  steamboat  on  which  he  was  journeying  to  New 
York  to  consult  his  physician. 

(From  HENRY  L.  ABBOT,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  2,  1886,  pp.  29-37.) 

JOHN  STRONG  NEWBERRY 
Born,  December  22,  1822;  died,  December  7,  1892 

General  Roger  Newberry,  grandfather  of  John  S.  Newberry, 
was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company, 
which  owned  the  northern  part  of  Ohio,  known  as  the  Western 
Reserve.  His  son,  Henry  Newberry,  located  his  father's  land 
on  the  Cuyahoga  River  and  founded  there  a  town,  to  which  he 


THE  INCORPORATORS  165 

moved  with  his  family  in  1824.  John  Strong  Newberry,  the 
youngest  of  nine  children,  was  two  years  old  at  this  time,  having 
been  born  at  Windsor,  Connecticut,  December  22,  1822.  The 
flora  and  fauna  about  his  home,  and  the  fossils  found  in  his 
father's  coal  mines  roused  in  his  youthful  mind  an  interest  in 
nature,  and  we  find  him  making  large  collections  before  he 
entered  college.  Preparing  in  a  special  school,  he  matriculated  at 
the  Western  Reserve  School,  and  was  graduated  in  1846.  During 
the  last  two  years  of  his  course  he  studied  medicine  and  after- 
wards entered  the  Cleveland  Medical  School,  from  which  he 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1848.  Sub- 
sequently he  spent  two  years  in  Paris  in  medical  studies,  and 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  for  four  years  at  Cleve- 
land, Ohio.  During  all  this  time,  he  continued  his  natural 
history  studies  and  published  several  papers.  Dr.  Newberry 
was  appointed  in  1855  assistant  surgeon  in  the  U.  S.  Army  and 
botanist  and  geologist  to  the  expedition,  which,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  R.  S.  Williamson,  explored  the  country 
between  San  Francisco  Bay  and  the  Columbia  River.  Return- 
ing to  the  capital  in  1856,  while  preparing  his  report,  Dr.  New- 
berry  served  for  one  year  as  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Natural 
History  in  Columbian  College,  now  George  Washington 
University.  The  following  year  he  acted  as  physician  and 
naturalist  to  the  Ives  Expedition,  and  in  1859  as  geologist  of  the 
San  Juan  Exploring  Expedition.  In  these  two  positions  the 
work  was  very  arduous,  as  journeys  were  made  through  some 
of  the  wildest  portions  of  the  Western  country,  but  much  valuable 
scientific  material  was  gathered.  The  report  of  the  San  Juan 
Expedition  was  not  published  for  seventeen  years,  owing  to  the 
unsettled  state  of  the  nation  caused  by  the  Civil  War.  Thus,  Dr. 
Newberry  lost  much  credit  due  to  him  as  an  original  geological 
and  ethnological  observer. 

Abandoning  his  scientific  work  at  the  breaking  out  of  the 
War,  Dr.  Newberry  entered  the  sanitary  service,  where,  as 
secretary  of  the  western  department  of  the  United  States  San- 
itary Commission,  he  showed  his  great  executive  ability,  and 


1 66  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

received  the  highest  commendation.  His  report  made  to  the 
Government  consists  of  543  octavo  pages.  At  the  close  of  the 
War,  he  became  scientific  associate  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion for  one  year.  In  1866  he  entered  on  his  chief  life-work  as 
Professor  of  Geology  and  Paleontology  at  the  School  of  Mines 
of  Columbia  University,  which  position  he  held  for  twenty-six 
years.  The  fine  museum  containing  many  fossils,  rocks  and 
minerals  collected  by  him,  and  the  rejuvenating  of  the  old 
Lyceum,  now  the  flourishing  New  York  Academy  of  Sciences, 
are  notable  results  of  the  efficient  labor  of  that  period. 

Dr.  Newberry  retained  his  residence  in  Cleveland,  and  from 
1869  to  1874  was  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Ohio, 
but  after  the  failure  of  the  Legislature  to  provide  funds,  he 
returned  to  New  Haven,  where  he  died,  December  7,  1892. 
He  had  served  as  President  of  the  Torrey  Botanical  Club  in 
1880.  His  part  in  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  was  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  fossil  fishes  and  some  of  the  fossil  plants  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  International  Con- 
gress of  Geologists,  of  which  he  was  elected  President  for  the 
Washington  meeting  of  1891.  In  1 888  he  received  the  Murchison 
Medal  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  and  the  same 
year  was  elected  first  Vice-President  of  the  Geological  Society 
of  America. 

Dr.  Newberry's  published  writings  numbered  over  two  hun- 
dred, besides  editorial  work  in  geology  and  paleontology  for 
Johnson's  Cyclopedia. 

(From  CHARLES  A.  WHITE,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  6,  1909,  pp.  1-24.) 

HUBERT  ANSON  NEWTON 
Born,  March  19,  1830;  died,  August  12,  1896 

Professor  Newton  was  born  on  March  19,  1830,  at  Sherburne, 
New  York.  His  parents  were  descended  from  early  settlers  of 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  who  had  moved  westward  into 
what  was  then  the  wilds  of  central  New  York.  Newton  showed 
at  an  early  age  a  taste  for  exact  studies  which  he  seems  to  have 


THE  INCORPORATORS  167 

inherited  from  his  father.  After  attending  the  schools  of  Sher- 
burne,  he  entered  Yale  College  and  was  graduated  in  1850. 
He  became  tutor  there  in  1853,  and  on  the  death  of  Professor 
Stanley,  the  Corporation  appointed  Newton,  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-five  to  the  professorship  of  mathematics,  a  position  which 
he  held  until  his  death.  Early  in  his  career  he  spent  a  year  in 
studies  in  Europe,  and  was  greatly  influenced  by  the  teaching 
of  Chasles  of  Paris  in  higher  geometry,  which  influence  showed 
itself  in  his  contributions  to  the  Mathematical  Monthly  in  1858 
and  the  three  following  years.  Although  this  branch  of  science 
for  many  years  was  his  favorite  study,  Professor  Newton 
ultimately  turned  his  attention  to  astronomy,  and  especially  to 
the  subject  of  meteors  or  "  shooting  stars."  The  wonderful 
display  of  meteors  in  1833  had  created  such  an  interest  in  the 
country,  and  so  much  material  had  been  collected  concerning 
previous  showers,  that  in  1861  the  Connecticut  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences  appointed  a  committee  of  which  Professor 
Newton  was  a  member,  to  promote  systematic  observations  on  the 
August  and  November  showers  in  different  localities.  As  an 
aid  to  this  work,  he  prepared  a  valuable  map  of  the  heavens  for 
plotting  meteor  tracks,  and  as  a  result  of  his  studies  of  the  obser- 
vations, published  in  1865  a  paper  on  the  paths  of  more  than  a 
hundred  meteors,  observed  on  the  nights  of  August  10  and 
November  13,  1863.  Continuing  his  researches  on  the  orbits 
of  meteoroids,  and  the  times  of  their  reappearance,  Professor 
Newton  solved  many  important  problems  regarding  them,  and 
raised  this  branch  of  research  to  an  honorable  place  in  astro- 
nomical science.  M.  Faye  remarked  of  his  results  in  1867,  in  the 
Comptes  Rendus,  "  We  may  find  in  the  works  of  Mr.  Newton,  of 
the  United  States,  the  most  advanced  expression  of  the  state 
of  science  on  this  subject." 

From  meteors  he  turned  his  attention  to  statistical  studies  of 
the  orbits  of  comets,  and  in  the  following  years  published  several 
important  papers  containing  the  results  of  his  investigations  of 
the  relationships  of  these  two  classes  of  celestial  objects.  Im- 
portant as  were  these  researches,  his  serious  life  work  was  that 


1 68  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

of  an  instructor  in  the  University  with  which  he  was  connected 
for  so  long  a  time.  "  If  from  all  those  who  have  come  under  his 
instruction  we  should  seek  to  learn  their  personal  recollections 
of  Professor  Newton,  we  should  probably  find  that  the  most 
universal  impression  which  he  made  on  his  classes  was  that  of  his 
enthusiastic  love  of  the  subject  which  he  was  teaching." 
(Gibbs.) 

In  1882  the  observatory  was  established  at  Yale  and  Professor 
Newton,  to  whom  it  largely  owed  its  existence,  was  the  first 
director.  He  introduced  there  the  use  of  the  photographic 
camera  to  record  the  tracks  of  meteors,  and  in  one  instance, 
through  a  simultaneous  observation  of  Mr.  Lewis  at  Ansonia, 
was  able  to  calculate  the  course  of  a  meteor  in  the  earth's  atmos- 
phere. 

He  was  naturally  interested  in  collections  of  meteoric  stones 
and  the  fine  series  in  the  Peabody  Museum  is  largely  the  result 
of  his  efforts. 

Professor  Newton  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  American 
Metrological  Society,  and  for  several  years  was  President  of 
the  Connecticut  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  In  1864  he 
became  associate  editor  of  the  American  Journal  of  Science. 
He  was  awarded  the  first  Lawrence  Smith  Medal  by  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  1888.  He  died  in  New  Haven 
on  August  12,  1896. 

(From  J.  WILLARD  GIBBS,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  4,  1902,  pp.  99-124.) 

BENJAMIN  PEIRCE 
Born,  April  4,  1809;  died,  October  6,  1880 

An  important  incident  in  Professor  Peirce's  boyhood  was  his 
acquaintance  with  Dr.  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  whose  son  was  a 
schoolmate.  In  the  dedication  of  one  of  his  books  he  speaks 
of  Dr.  Bowditch  as  "  my  Master  in  Science,  Nathaniel  Bow- 
ditch,  the  father  of  American  Geometry." 

Professor  Peirce  was  born  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  April  4, 
1809,  and  entered  Harvard  College  in  1825.  Dr.  Bowditch  had 


THE  INCORPORATOKS  169 

at  that  time  removed  to  Boston,  and  young  Peirce  assisted  him 
in  reading  the  proofs  of  his  translation  of  Laplace's  Mecanique 
Celeste. 

For  two  years  after  his  graduation,  Professor  Peirce  taught 
at  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  In  1831,  he  was  appointed  a 
tutor  in  Harvard  College,  and  in  1833  was  elected  Professor  of 
Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy.  Afterwards  he  was 
called  to  the  Perkins  chair  of  mathematics  and  astronomy,  which 
he  occupied  until  his  death. 

During  the  first  years  of  his  professorship,  he  published  a 
series  of  text-books  for  use  in  colleges.  The  first  was  a  "  Treatise 
on  Sound,"  and  was  followed  by  one  on  "  Plane  and  Solid 
Geometry,"  a  "  Treatise  on  Algebra,"  and  a  treatise  on  "  Plane 
and  Spherical  Trigonometry."  These  books  produced  very 
beneficial  effects  on  the  methods  of  teaching  mathematics. 

In  1841,  Professor  Peirce  began  a  work  on  "  Curves,  Func- 
tions and  Forces,"  two  volumes  of  which  appeared  at  intervals. 
In  place  of  the  third  volume,  he  published  in  1855,  his 
"  Analytic  Mechanics."  This  was  rather  a  treatise  than  a  text- 
book, and  exhibits  in  a  striking  manner  Peirce's  peculiar  mathe- 
matical powers,  and  his  concise  and  logical  style.  In  1842,  he 
began  work  on  the  mathematical  part  of  the  "  American 
Almanac,"  of  which  he  prepared  ten  volumes.  One  of  these  con- 
tained a  list  of  the  known  orbits  of  comets,  to  which  he  added 
several  approximate  orbits  for  historic  comets  that  had  been 
imperfectly  observed. 

In  1849,  Congress  established  a  bureau  for  the  publication 
of  the  "  American  Ephemeris  and  Nautical  Almanac,"  under 
the  supervision  of  Admiral  (then  Lieutenant)  Charles  H.  Davis, 
and  Professor  Peirce  was  appointed  consulting  astronomer.  To 
his  work  while  in  this  position  may  be  attributed  largely  the 
high  character  which  this  publication  attained.  For  it  he  pre- 
pared his  "  Tables  of  the  Moon,"  which  were  used  for  many 
years.  After  the  discovery  of  the  planet  Neptune,  Professor 
Peirce  took  great  interest  in  the  researches  of  Leverrier  and 
Adams,  and  his  papers  written  on  the  disputed  questions  regard- 


1 70  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

ing  this  newly-found  body  excited  much  discussion  among 
astronomers. 

In  1852,  Professor  Bache,  then  Superintendent  of  the  United 
States  Coast  Survey,  obtained  the  help  of  Professor  Peirce  in 
preparing  the  longitude  determinations  in  the  Survey,  and  from 
the  work  he  then  did  appears  to  have  originated  his  article  in 
Gould's  Astronomical  Journal,  entitled  "  Criterion  for  the  Rejec- 
tion of  Doubtful  Observations."  "  It  would  seem  almost  certain 
that  *  Peirce's  Criterion,'  or  possibly  some  modified  form  of  it, 
will  in  time  secure  general  acceptance.  In  any  case,  it  will  ever 
stand  as  the  first,  and  as  a  satisfactory  solution  of  this  delicate 
and  practically  important  problem  of  probability." 

For  seven  years  Professor  Peirce  was  Superintendent  of  the 
United  States  Coast  Survey,  having  been  appointed  in  1867  after 
the  death  of  Professor  Bache.  While  in  this  position,  he  made 
several  tours  of  inspection,  and  raised  the  standard  of  the  ser- 
vice by  giving  greater  freedom  to  the  officers  of  the  corps,  plac- 
ing responsibility  on  each  person  engaged  in  the  work,  and 
giving  aid  to  all  scientific  work  connected  with  the  Survey.  As 
Superintendent  he  took  personal  charge  of  the  expedition  to 
Sicily  in  1870,  to  observe  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  which  occurred 
in  December  of  that  year.  By  his  efforts  as  a  member  of  the 
Transit  of  Venus  Commission,  a  party  from  the  Coast  Survey 
was  sent  to  Nagasaki,  and  another  to  Chatham  Island,  to  take 
part  in  the  observations  on  the  occasion  of  this  important  astro- 
nomical event. 

In  1864,  Professor  Peirce  read  his  first  paper  before  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  from  1866  to  1870  a  series 
of  papers  that  were  published  later  in  his  "  Linear  Associative 
Algebra."  This  work  he  pronounced  "  the  pleasantest  mathe- 
matical effort  of  my  life,"  and  a  writer  has  said  of  it  that  it 
"  must  ever  remain  a  monument  to  the  comprehensive  grasp  of 
thought  and  analytical  genius  of  its  author." 

Interested  in  all  astronomical  questions,  and  especially  those 
concerning  the  solar  system,  Professor  Peirce  studied  the  nebular 
hypothesis,  the  rings  of  Saturn,  the  phenomena  of  comets  and 


THE  INCORPORATORS  iyi 

meteors,  and  many  other  topics,  and  published  many  papers 
relating  to  them.  His  last  contributions  to  science  were  a  series 
of  eight  propositions  in  cosmical  physics,  and  his  "  Lectures  on 
Ideality  in  Science." 

Besides  his  additions  to  the  literature  of  science,  Professor 
Peirce  assisted  in  the  organization,  in  1855,  of  the  Dudley  Observ- 
atory at  Albany,  and  was  instrumental  in  the  establishment  of 
the  observatory  at  Harvard  University.  He  died  at  Cambridge 
October  6,  1880. 

(From  Proc.  Amer.  A  cad.  Arts  and  Sci.,  new  series,  vol.  8,  1881,  pp.  443-454.) 

JOHN  RODGERS 

Born,  August  8,  1812;  died,  May  5,  1882 

Admiral  John  Rodgers,  the  third  of  that  name,  was  the  grand- 
son of  John  Rodgers,  who  came  from  Glasgow,  and  settled  in 
Harford  County,  Maryland.  The  elder  Rodgers  was  a  colonel 
of  the  Maryland  line  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  among 
his  descendants  were  several  sailors  and  soldiers  who  rendered 
valiant  service  to  their  country. 

John  Rodgers,  third,  was  born  at  Sion  Hill,  near  Havre  de 
Grace,  Maryland,  on  August  8,  1812.  His  mother  was  the 
daughter  of  Gideon  Denison,  who  was  a  native  of  Connecticut 
and  noted  as  an  Indian  fighter.  With  such  an  ancestry  it  is  not 
strange  that  we  find  John  Rodgers  a  midshipman  in  his  sixteenth 
year.  He  served  three  and  a  half  years  at  sea,  spent  one  year 
at  the  Naval  School  at  Norfolk,  and  another  at  the  University 
of  Virginia,  then,  three  years  on  the  South  American  Station. 
Wliile  he  was  on  the  Florida  coast,  Lopez,  the  Cuban  insurgent, 
was  pursued  by  the  Pizarro,  a  Spanish  sloop-of-war,  but  Rodgers 
with  the  Petrel,  a  small  schooner  of  one  gun,  prevented  his  cap- 
ture. The  charts  of  the  Florida  coast  prepared  by  Rodgers  at 
this  period  have  been  of  great  service. 

In  1852  Rodgers  joined  the  North  Pacific  Exploring  and 
Surveying  Expedition  in  command  of  the  steamer  John  Han- 
cock, and  on  the  retirement  of  Commander  Ringgold,  owing  to 


172  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

ill  health,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Squadron.  He  made 
extensive  explorations  and  deep-sea  soundings  in  the  northern 
waters,  and  obtained  valuable  knowledge  of  the  surrounding 
territory.  Nearly  forty  sea  charts  were  based  on  these  surveys. 

During  the  Civil  War,  Commander  Rodgers  performed 
arduous  and  gallant  service  in  southern  waters.  He  was  made 
captain  in  1862  and  given  command  of  the  Weehaivken,  one  of 
the  new  monitors,  which  headed  the  line  in  the  attack  on  Fort 
Sumter,  April  7,  1863.  For  his  bravery  in  the  engagement  with 
the  Atlanta,  Secretary  Welles  recommended  that  he  be  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  commodore,  and  receive  the  thanks  of  Congress. 
After  the  War,  when  in  command  of  the  Squadron  which  con- 
voyed the  monitor  Monadnock  to  San  Francisco,  Commodore 
Rodgers  so  guarded  the  American  interests,  during  the  hostilities 
between  the  South  American  Republics  and  Spain,  especially  in 
the  threatened  bombardment  of  Valparaiso,  that  he  received 
special  commendation  of  the  Navy  Department. 

From  1866  to  1869,  Commodore  Rodgers  was  in  charge  of 
the  Boston  Navy  Yard,  and  in  the  latter  year  promoted  to  the 
grade  of  rear-admiral.  Ordered  to  the  command  of  the  Asiatic 
Squadron,  Admiral  Rodgers,  sailed  in  1871  to  Corea,  where  in 
consequence  of  treachery  five  forts  were  taken  and  destroyed. 

In  1872  Rodgers  became  President  of  the  Naval  Examining 
and  Retiring  Board,  and  after  four  years  of  service  at  the  Navy 
Yard  at  Mare  Island,  he  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the 
Naval  Observatory  in  Washington.  By  his  advice,  a  site  on 
Georgetown  Heights  was  bought  for  a  new  observatory,  but 
the  building  was  not  completed  until  after  his  death.  He  was 
successful  in  obtaining  from  Congress  an  appropriation  of  $1000 
a  year  for  the  purchase  of  new  books,  by  means  of  which  he 
formed  one  of  the  best  astronomical  and  mathematical  libraries 
in  the  country. 

Added  to  his  duties  at  the  observatory,  Admiral  Rodgers  was 
called  upon  for  extra  service  as  President  of  the  Transit  of 
Venus  Commission,  of  the  Naval  Advisory  Board,  of  the 
Jeannette  Relief  Board,  and  as  chairman  of  the  Lighthouse 


THE  INCORPORATORS  173 

Board.  In  the  last  position  he  visited  many  stations,  and  took  part 
in  many  experiments,  both  in  acoustics  and  optics.  This  work, 
while  adding  to  his  fame,  was  a  severe  strain  upon  his  physical 
forces.  A  serious  illness  overtook  him,  and  he  died  at  the  Barber 
house,  the  site  of  the  New  Observatory,  on  May  5,  1882,  after 
fifty-four  years  of  public  service. 

(From  ASAPH  HALL,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  6,  1909,  pp.  81-92.  See  also  CHARLES  O.  PAULLIN,  "  Services  of 
Commodore  John  Rodgers  in  the  War  of  1812,"  and  "  In  Our  Wars  with  the 
Barbary  Corsairs  ";  also  "  A  Biography  of  Commodore  John  Rodgers.") 

FAIRMAN   ROGERS 
Born,  November  15,  1833;  died,  August  22,  1900 

The  faculties  that  gave  Fairman  Rogers  prominence  as  a  man 
of  science  seem  to  have  been  inherited  in  large  part  from  his 
father,  Evans  Rogers,  and  from  his  maternal  grandfather, 
Gideon  Fairman,  who  was  a  noted  inventor.  He  was  born  on 
November  15,  1833  in  Philadelphia,  and  while  yet  in  the  pre- 
paratory school  gave  promise  of  a  brilliant  career.  He  entered 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1849,  and  was  very  successful 
in  his  studies,  especially  in  the  physical  sciences,  so  much  so 
that  Dr.  John  F.  Frazer,  then  Professor  of  Chemistry  and 
Physics  in  the  University,  foreseeing  a  brilliant  future  for  his 
pupil,  not  only  aided  him  in  his  class  work,  but  introduced  him 
to  his  scientific  acquaintances.  Two  years  after  graduation,  Mr. 
Rogers  became  connected  with  the  United  States  Coast  Survey, 
and  in  1857  assisted  Professor  Bache  in  determining  the  Epping 
base-line  in  Maine.  At  this  time  he  was  Professor  of  Civil 
Engineering  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  also  lectured 
at  the  Franklin  Institute,  and  later  at  Harvard  University.  In 
1 86 1  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, on  the  construction  of  roads  and  bridges,  and,  later,  a  course 
on  glaciers.  He  also  made  a  survey  of  the  Potomac  River  for  the 
United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  Professor  Rogers  served 
as  first  sergeant  of  the  Philadelphia  city  cavalry  in  a  three  months' 
13 


174  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

campaign,  and  later,  as  a  volunteer  engineer  officer,  in  the 
Philadelphia  Militia,  was  present  at  the  battles  of  Gettysburg 
and  Antietam. 

In  his  connection  with  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences, 
Professor  Rogers  made  a  study  of  the  compasses  of  the  iron 
vessels  used  in  the  service  of  the  Government  This  investigation 
led  him  to  write  a  treatise  on  the  "  Magnetism  of  Iron  Vessels  " 
which  was  published  in  the  van  Nostrand  Science  Series. 

Severing  his  connection  with  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
in  1 88 1,  after  being  nine  years  a  trustee  of  that  institution,  Pro- 
fessor Rogers  became  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Instruction 
at  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  reorganized  its  system  and 
rendered  valuable  services  in  other  directions  for  several  years. 

Professor  Rogers  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Union  League 
Club  of  Philadelphia.  He  exhibited  the  versatility  of  his  mind 
by  writing  a  treatise  on  horsemanship  and  a  manual  of  coaching, 
in  which  he  endeavored  to  show  that  these  arts  were  properly 
based  on  scientific  principles.  Credit  for  suggesting  to  Professor 
Muybridge  the  principle  to  be  employed  in  photographing 
animals  in  motion  has  been  given  to  Professor  Rogers  and  modi- 
fications of  this  principle  form  the  basis  of  the  present  day 
biograph  and  cinematograph.  He  died  at  Vienna  on  August 
22,  1900. 

He  was  the  first  Treasurer  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences 
and  served  in  that  capacity  for  eighteen  years. 

(From  EDGAR  F.  SMITH,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  6,  1909,  pp.  93-107.) 

ROBERT  EMPIE  ROGERS 
Born,  March  29,  1813;  died,  September  6,  1884 

Robert  Empie  Rogers  was  the  youngest  of  four  brothers,  all 
of  whom  became  eminent  as  men  of  science.  His  father,  Dr. 
Patrick  Kerr  Rogers,  emigrated  from  Ireland  in  1798,  and 
after  living  in  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  for  several  years, 
became  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Mathematics  in 
William  and  Mary  College.  Robert  who  was  born  at  Balti- 


THE  INCORPORATORS 

more,  March  29,  1813,  was  only  seven  years  old  when  his  mother 
died.  He  was  tenderly  cared  for,  however,  by  Rev.  Adam  P. 
Empie  and  his  wife,  and  in  gratitude  to  them  he  adopted  Empie 
as  his  middle  name.  Although  his  brothers,  after  his  father's 
death,  favored  the  idea  of  his  becoming  a  civil  engineer,  he  was 
more  inclined  toward  teaching,  and  in  preparation  for  this  work 
continued  his  studies  in  botany,  geology,  and  mineralogy.  He 
added  to  these  a  medical  course  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Though  receiving  a  doctor's  degree  in  1836,  he  did  not 
practice  medicine  but  turned  his  attention  to  chemistry,  in  which 
he  had  become  deeply  interested,  and  joined  his  brother  Henry 
as  chemist  of  the  first  Geological  Survey  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
March,  1842,  he  had  the  gratification  of  receiving  an  appoint- 
ment as  Professor  of  General  and  Applied  Chemistry  in  the 
University  of  Virginia.  In  conjunction  with  his  brothers  James 
and  William,  Dr.  Rogers  made  many  experiments,  wrote  numer- 
ous valuable  scientific  papers,  and  published  text-books  on  chem- 
istry. Indeed,  so  intimately  were  the  four  brothers  connected 
in  their  researches  that  the  results  were  often  spoken  of  as  those 
of  "  the  brothers  Rogers."  No  jealous  rivalry  existed  among 
them. 

At  the  death  of  James,  in  1852,  Robert  was  chosen  to  fill  his 
place  as  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  afterwards  became  dean  of  the  medical  faculty.  To 
his  numerous  duties  he  added  those  of  assistant  surgeon  in  the 
Military  Hospital,  and  while  showing  a  woman  the  dangers 
connected  with  the  use  of  a  steam  mangle,  he  was  so  unfortunate 
as  to  lose  his  right  hand.  He  soon  learned  to  use  his  left  hand 
and  his  right  arm  with  great  skill  in  carrying  on  his  experiments. 
In  1872  Dr.  Rogers  took  part  in  an  investigation  concerning  the 
waste  of  silver  in  the  United  States  Mint  at  Philadelphia,  and 
devised  new  methods  of  refining  precious  metals.  He  also  pre- 
pared the  plan  for  the  refinery  at  the  San  Francisco  Mint.  On 
account  of  changes  in  the  administration  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  Dr.  Rogers,  after  twenty-five  years  of  service  in 
that  institution,  withdrew  from  it,  and  accepted  in  1877  the  chair 


176  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

of  chemistry  in  the  Jefferson  Medical  College.  In  1884  he  be- 
came professor  emeritus,  and  died  on  September  6,  of  the  same 
year. 

As  indicating  the  practical  side  of  Dr.  Rogers'  mind  it  should 
be  recalled  that  he  was  the  inventor  of  a  steam  boiler,  knowir 
as  the  Rogers  and  Black  boiler,  and  also  made  improvements 
in  electrical  apparatus. 

His  courage  in  an  emergency  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  three 
times  he  rescued  persons  from  certain  death.  His  success  as  a 
teacher  was  undoubted,  due  probably  in  large  part  to  the  love 
and  respect  he  inspired  in  his  pupils,  his  fine  literary  style,  and 
his  great  cleverness  in  experimentation. 

(From  EDGAR  F.  SMITH,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  5,  1905 ,  pp.  291-309.) 

WILLIAM  BARTON  ROGERS 
Born,  December  7,  1804;  died,  May  30,  1882 

The  name  of  Rogers  is  a  prominent  one  in  the  history  of  Amer- 
ican science.  The  son  of  Dr.  Patrick  Kerr  Rogers,  a  native 
of  the  north  of  Ireland,  William  Barton  Rogers  was  one  of  four 
brothers  who  attained  celebrity  in  their  chosen  fields  of  research. 
He  was  born  in  Philadelphia  and  educated  at  William  and 
Mary  College,  and  delivered  his  first  lectures  at  the  Maryland 
Institute.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  1828  as  Professor  of 
Chemistry  and  Physics  in  the  college  from  which  he  was 
graduated. 

In  1835  he  was  called  to  the  University  of  Virginia  as  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Philosophy  and  also  appointed  Geologist  of 
Virginia.  Professor  Rogers  gained  the  greatest  popularity  by 
his  scholarly  exposition  of  the  subjects  which  he  presented  in 
public  addresses,  not  only  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  but  also 
before  the  British  and  the  American  Associations  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science,  and  the  other  scientific  bodies  with  which 
he  was  connected.  His  rare  gifts  of  diction  and  poetic  expres- 
sion, united  with  a  voice  of  commanding  quality  and  a  distin- 
guished personal  appearance,  gave  him  preeminence  among  the 


THE  INCORPORATORS  177 

scientific  lecturers  of  his  time.  He  and  his  brothers  Henry  and 
Robert  performed  most  important  work  for  American  geology 
by  presenting  the  results  of  their  observations  in  a  series  of 
papers  of  enduring  importance.  The  wave  theory  of  mountain 
chains,  which  was  the  result  of  extended  study  of  the  Appa- 
lachian chain  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  excited  great  interest 
at  the  time  of  its  presentation  and  was  confirmed  by  later  obser- 
vations. 

Removing  to  Boston  in  1853,  Professor  Rogers  was  associated 
with  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  the 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  History.  At  this  time,  his  work  was 
largely  in  physics.  The  variations  of  ozone  in  the  atmosphere, 
improvements  of  the  Ruhmkorff  coil,  some  phenomena  of  sight 
and  the  properties  of  sonorous  flames  were  among  the  subjects 
he  investigated.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Andrew 
inspector  of  gas  and  gas-meters  for  the  State  of  Massachusetts, 
and  made  a  visit  to  Europe,  in  1864,  to  study  the  latest  methods. 
At  this  time  he  delivered  at  Bath  a  paper  before  the  British 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  The  establishment 
of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  of  which  Professor 
Rogers  was  the  first  president,  was  due  to  his  labors  which 
continued  until  his  death.  Physical  inability  obliging  him  to 
desist  for  a  while  from  active  work  and  finally  to  resign  the 
presidency,  though  remaining  professor  emeritus  of  physics  and 
geology,  his  last  act  was  performed  in  the  interest  of  the  students. 
Rising  to  present  the  diplomas  to  the  graduating  class  he  had 
uttered  but  a  few  words,  when  he  fell  lifeless  to  the  platform. 
Thus  on  the  3oth  of  May,  1882,  was  closed  a  life  devoted  to  the 
search  of  scientific  truths  and  their  presentation  in  a  manner  so 
attractive  and  so  convincing  as  to  impress  their  importance  on 
the  minds  of  others. 

Professor  Rogers  was  the  third  President  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  and  served  from  1879  to  1882. 

(From  FRANCIS  A.  WALKER,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  3,  1895,  pp.  1-13.) 


178  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

LEWIS  MORRIS  RUTHERFURD 
Born,  November  25,  1816;  died,  May  30,  1892 

Lewis  Morris  Rutherfurd  numbered  among  his  ancestors 
some  who  were  prominent  in  the  early  history  of  the  United 
States,  including  Senator  John  Rutherfurd,  Lewis  Morris,  Chief 
Justice  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  who  was  also  the  first 
Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  that  other  Lewis  Morris  who 
signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  subject  of  the  present  brief  sketch  was  born  in  Morrisania, 
now  a  part  of  New  York  City,  November  25,  1816.  After  his 
graduation  from  Williams  College  in  1834,  ne  served  as  assistant 
to  the  professor  of  physics  and  astronomy  in  preparations  for 
experiments,  and  in  the  construction  of  apparatus.  Law  studies 
in  the  office  of  William  H.  Seward  occupied  his  attention  for 
two  years,  and  later  he  became  a  partner  of  Hamilton  Fish. 

Mr.  Rutherfurd's  greatest  interest,  however,  had  always  been 
in  astronomy,  and  through  his  marriage  with  Margaret  Stuy- 
vesant  Chandler,  niece  and  adopted  daughter  of  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant,  he  found  the  means  of  engaging  in  this  study.  The 
Stuyvesant  home  became  a  center  for  astronomical  observations. 
Under  Mr.  Rutherfurd's  direction,  an  observatory  with  an  nj- 
inch  telescope  and  a  transit  instrument  was  established,  a  work- 
shop also  being  added  in  which  excellent  instruments  were  con- 
structed. 

After  some  years  his  law  practice  was  given  up,  and  on  his 
return  from  Europe,  which  he  had  visited  on  account  of  his 
wife's  ill  health,  he  threw  all  his  energies  into  scientific  investi- 
gations. While  in  Paris,  Mr.  Rutherfurd  became  intimate  with 
Amici,  who  was  carrying  on  experiments  upon  achromatism  of 
objectives  for  microscopes,  and  to  this  may  possibly  be  attributed 
Rutherfurd's  application  to  microscopes  of  the  devices  he  had 
so  successfully  used  for  telescopes.  The  observatory  in  New 
York  was,  by  courtesy,  used  as  a  primary  station  for  the  deter- 
mination of  longitudes,  by  the  Coast  Survey,  "  Stuyvesant 
Garden,"  being  named  as  one  of  the  points. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  179 

In  1858  experiments  were  begun  in  astronomical  photography, 
which  were  carried  on  so  successfully,  that  on  the  occasion  of  the 
total  solar  eclipse  in  1860,  observed  in  Labrador  with  the  first 
telescope  constructed  especially  for  photographic  purposes,  a 
distinct  difference  was  shown  in  the  character  of  the  limbs  of  the 
sun  and  the  moon.  In  1861  Rutherfurd  constructed  "a  Cas- 
segrainian  reflecting  telescope  with  silvered  glass  mirror,  having 
13  inches  aperture  and  8  feet  focus,"  but  the  necessity  for  fre- 
quent resilvering  and  the  tremors  caused  by  the  location  in  the 
city  interfering  with  good  work,  the  reflector  was  abandoned 
after  a  short  trial. 

Mr.  Rutherfurd's  first  astronomical  paper  was  published  in 
1862.  In  this  he  confirmed  Clark's  discovery  of  the  companion 
of  Sirius,  having  found  the  object  with  his  n-inch  telescope. 
The  next  season  he  made  seventy-nine  measures  of  position-angle, 
and  thirty-eight  of  distance.  These  observations,  added  to  those 
made  at  Cambridge  and  at  Pulkowa,  gave  the  principal  basis  of 
knowledge  of  this  newly-found  body  for  two  years. 

In  1863  Mr.  Rutherfurd  published  in  the  American  Journal 
of  Science  his  second  scientific  paper  entitled  "  Astronomical  Ob- 
servations with  the  Spectroscope,"  in  which  he  gives  the  result  of 
his  observations  and  measurement  of  the  spectra  not  only  of  the 
sun,  moon,  Jupiter  and  Mars,  but  also  for  seventeen  stars.  He 
continued  his  observations  of  the  companion  of  Sirius,  and  also 
published  a  paper  in  1863  on  "  Observations  on  Stellar  Spectra." 
Not  long  afterward  he  began  to  employ  photography  in  these 
investigations,  and  obtained  a  fine  representation  of  the  solar 
spectrum  which  he  exhibited  to  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  in  1864.  He  further  improved  his  apparatus  by  the 
use  of  extraordinarily  delicate  diffraction  gratings,  the  secret  of 
making  which  he  learned  for  himself,  and  with  these  obtained 
results  in  the  study  of  solar  and  stellar  light  that  were  unequalled 
until  Draper  entered  upon  the  same  field  some  years  later. 

Even  more  interesting  and  important  are  the  results  which 
Rutherfurd  obtained  in  the  construction  of  telescopic  object- 
glasses  for  photographing  celestial  bodies.  After  much  thought 


180  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

and  labor,  he  succeeded  in  1864  in  making  a  most  excellent  lens 
with  which  he  obtained  remarkable  photographs  of  the  Pleiades 
and  other  star-clusters,  and  an  exquisite  one  of  the  moon.  Next 
he  turned  to  the  problem  of  making  measurements  on  the  pho- 
tographic plates  and  invented  a  micrometer.  This  work  of 
photographing  and  measuring,  and  the  constant  introduction  of 
improvements  in  the  instruments  employed,  was  carried  on  until 
1877,  when  failing  health  obliged  him  to  desist.  In  1880  the 
city  having  encroached  upon  the  home  and  the  observatory,  Mr. 
Rutherfurd  removed  to  a  rural  estate  named  "  Tranquillity  "  in 
northwestern  New  Jersey.  His  winters  were  passed  in  Florida 
and  in  visits  to  southern  Europe.  Finding  his  health  steadily 
failing  in  1884,  he  presented  to  the  Observatory  of  Columbia 
College  his  i3j-inch  telescope,  with  its  corrector  and  the  im- 
proved micrometer,  together  with  1456  plates  and  records  of  the 
measures  made,  providing  also  means  for  continuing  the  work 
of  measurement.  His  death  occurred  May  30,  1892,  at  Tran- 
quillity. 

(From  B.  A.  GOULD,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  3,  1895,  pp.  415-441.) 

JOSEPH  SAXTON 
Born,  March  22,  1799;  died,  October  26,  1873 

Joseph  Saxton  was  a  man  of  remarkable  inventive  ability. 
His  imagination  ran  in  scientific  lines,  and  when  he  had  grasped 
the  principles  underlying  the  action  of  natural  forces,  he  knew 
how  to  make  them  subservient  to  the  needs  of  his  fellowmen. 
The  town  of  Huntington,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  small  village  at 
the  time  of  his  birth,  in  1799,  and  afforded  few  opportunities 
for  education.  His  father,  James  Saxton,  after  engaging  in  a  num- 
ber of  different  pursuits,  became  the  proprieter  of  a  small  nail 
factory.  At  the  age  of  twelve  his  son  Joseph  entered  the  factory 
and  it  was  not  long  before  he  had  made  improvements  in  the 
machinery  which  increased  its  efficiency.  Tiring  of  the  limita- 
tions of  his  work,  however,  he  was  permitted  to  apprentice  him- 
self to  a  watchmaker,  but  after  two  years  his  employer  died,  and 


THE  INCORPORATORS  l8l 

while  waiting  for  some  new  opening,  he  occupied  himself  by 
constructing  a  printing  press  and  publishing  a  small  newspaper. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  resolved  to  leave  his  native  village  and 
seek  his  fortune  in  the  world.  Accompanied  by  two  friends,  he 
made  his  way  down  the  Juniata  River  to  Harrisburg  in  a  boat 
which  he  had  constructed  as  a  model  of  a  man-of-war,  and  hence 
proceeded  to  Philadelphia.  Here  he  obtained  employment  for  a 
short  period  as  a  watchmaker  and  afterwards  as  an  engraver. 
Later  he  became  associated  with  Isaiah  Lukens,  a  noted 
machinist,  and  at  this  time  constructed  an  astronomical  clock 
with  a  compensating  pendulum  and  an  escapement  of  his  own 
devising,  and  also  constructed  the  town  clock  of  Philadelphia. 

His  inventive  ingenuity  led  to  his  election  to  membership  in 
the  Franklin  Institute,  where  he  came  into  contact  with  many 
prominent  men  of  science.  Having  resolved  to  visit  London,  he 
accumulated  savings  sufficient  for  the  purpose  and  about  the 
year  1831  proceeded  on  his  journey.  The  banking  house  in 
which  he  had  deposited  his  money  stopped  payment  soon  after  his 
arrival  in  London,  and  he  was  compelled  to  seek  employment. 
He  found  an  opening  in  the  recently-established  institution  of 
practical  science  known  as  the  Adelaide  Gallery,  where  new 
scientific  instruments  and  apparatus  were  exhibited  by  inventors 
and  manufacturers.  Here  Saxton  quickly  rose  to  notice  by  a 
series  of  inventions,  some  of  them  of  practical  importance  and 
others  interesting  as  ingeniously  devised  scientific  toys.  Among 
these  was  a  large  magnet,  a  diving  bell,  an  ingenious  toy  known 
as  "  the  paradoxical  head,"  and  a  series  of  miniature  vessels 
moved  by  concealed  clock  work.  Having  made  the  acquaintance 
of  a  number  of  prominent  English  engineers  and  mechanicians, 
he  was  introduced  into  the  Royal  Institution  and  entered  into 
friendly  relationships  with  Michael  Faraday.  Faraday  had 
already  discovered  induction  currents,  but  it  remained  for  Sax- 
ton  to  invent  an  instrument  to  make  their  effects  manifest.  This 
he  did  in  an  ingenious  manner,  and  by  means  of  the  instrument 
which  he  constructed  he  decomposed  water,  exhibited  a  power- 
ful spark,  and  an  electrical  light  between  carbons.  The  instru- 


1 82  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

ment  was  exhibited  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  in 
1833.  "The  poet  Coleridge,  who  was  present  at  its  exhibition 
in  Cambridge,  spoke  with  enthusiasm,  not  only  of  the  magnitude 
of  the  discovery  of  the  inductive  electrical  effects  of  magnetism, 
one  of  the  claims  of  Faraday — to  imperishable  reputation — but 
also  of  the  ingenious  invention  of  Mr.  Saxton,  by  which  the 
transient  electrical  currents  might  exhibit  their  effects  in  so 
brilliant  and  so  powerful  a  manner."  (Henry.) 

Saxton  produced  many  other  inventions  while  in  London, 
among  them  a  locomotive  differential  pulley,  an  instrument  to 
measure  the  velocity  of  vessels,  another  for  measuring  the  height 
of  water  in  a  steam  boiler,  a  fountain  pen,  etc.  He  also  devised 
a  method  for  locating  the  interior  magnetic  poles  of  the  earth, 
and  constructed  the  apparatus  used  by  Wheatstone  to  measure 
the  velocity  of  electricity  in  a  long  wire. 

Leaving  London  in  1837,  he  was  appointed  constructor  and 
curator  of  the  standard  weighing  apparatus  in  the  Mint  at 
Philadelphia.  While  here  his  improved  form  of  Gobrecht's 
instrument  for  reproducing  the  designs  of  medals  by  engraving 
was  brought  into  use.  He  also  constructed  balances  for  weighing 
coins,  of  such  delicacy  that  they  would  turn  with  one  three- 
millionth  part  of  their  load. 

In  1834  Saxton  was  awarded  the  Scott  Medal  of  the  Franklin 
Institute  for  the  invention  of  a  reflecting  pyrometer,  an  instru- 
ment which  was  capable  of  indicating  changes  in  the  length  of 
a  metal  bar  to  the  one-hundred-thousandth  part  of  an  inch. 

In  1843  Saxton  was  appointed  by  Professor  Bache  to  take 
charge  of  the  construction  of  the  standard  balances,  weights  and 
measures  which  were  authorized  by  Congress  for  distribution 
to  the  several  States  of  the  Union.  While  in  this  position  he  also 
devised  many  instruments  for  use  in  the  Coast  Survey,  including 
an  automatic  instrument  for  recording  the  height  of  tides,  and  an 
improved  automatic  dividing  machine. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science  in  1858,  Saxton  gave  an  account  of  the  use  of  the 
revolving  mirror  in  minute  measurements,  such  as  the  expansion 


THE  INCORPORATORS  183 

of  building  stones  from  heat,  the  motion  of  the  axis  of  the 
aneroid  barometer,  changes  in  magnetic  dip,  etc.  Other  inven- 
tions of  Saxton's  were  an  automatic  damper  for  stoves,  a  fusible 
metallic  sealing  compound  for  official  papers  sent  to  tropical 
countries,  and  a  hydrometer. 

About  fifteen  years  before  his  death,  Saxton  suffered  a  partial 
stroke  of  paralysis,  from  which  he  never  entirely  recovered. 
He  died  in  Washington  on  October  26,  1873. 

(From  JOSEPH  HENRY,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  287-316.) 

BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  SENIOR 
Born,  August  8,  1779;  died,  November  24,  1864 

In  common  with  several  other  founders  of  the  Academy,  the 
lifetime  of  Benjamin  Silliman  extended  from  the  period  of  the 
Revolution  to  that  of  the  Civil  War.  At  the  time  of  his  birth, 
the  independence  of  the  United  States  was  not  yet  an  accom- 
plished fact.  His  father,  General  Gold  Selleck  Silliman,  bore 
an  honorable  part  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  The  Silliman 
family  had  resided  for  many  years  in  the  town  of  Fairfield, 
Connecticut,  but  in  1779  the  British  forces  invaded  the  coast 
towns  of  that  State  and  the  family  took  refuge  in  Stratford 
(now  Trumbull),  and  here  Benjamin  Silliman  was  born  on  the 
8th  day  of  August.  He  entered  Yale  College  at  the  early  age 
of  thirteen  years,  and  was  graduated  in  1796.  Upon  graduation 
he  took  up  the  study  of  law  and  after  the  lapse  of  three  years  also 
assumed  the  duties  of  a  tutor  in  Yale  College.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1802,  but  was  not  destined  to  follow  the  profession 
for  which  he  had  fitted  himself.  He  was  persuaded  by  President 
Dwight  of  Yale  to  abandon  that  calling  and  devote  himself  to 
chemistry  and  the  natural  sciences,  which  were  then  beginning 
to  be  looked  upon  as  necessary  to  a  college  curriculum.  Accord- 
ingly, he  was  elected  the  same  year  Professor  of  Chemistry  and 
Natural  History  at  Yale,  though  he  did  not  begin  to  lecture  on 
these  subjects  until  two  years  later.  These  two  years  he  spent 
in  Philadelphia  as  a  student  of  Dr.  Woodhouse  and  in  pursuing 


184  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

experiments  with  Dr.  Hare  with  the  oxyhydrogen  blowpipe, 
which  Hare  had  just  then  invented.  In  1805  he  visited  Europe, 
spending  much  time  in  England  and  Scotland  where  he  met 
or  studied  under  Professors  Hope,  Murray,  Playfair  and  other 
eminent  men  of  science,  at  the  same  time  recording  his  impres- 
sions of  men  and  things  which  he  published  later  under  the 
title  of  a  "  Journal  of  Travels  in  England,  Holland,  and  Scot- 
land in  1805-06." 

Upon  his  return  to  America,  Professor  Silliman  resumed 
his  lectures  at  Yale,  and  continued  in  the  duties  of  his  professor- 
ship for  half  a  century.  In  181 1  he  conducted  an  extensive  series 
of  experiments  in  melting  refractory  minerals  with  Hare's  blow- 
pipe, of  which  he  published  an  account  the  following  year.  At 
the  same  time,  while  working  with  Hare's  "  galvanic  defla- 
grator,"  he  observed  that  the  charcoal  of  the  positive  pole  was 
transferred  to  the  negative  pole  and  that  it  was  fused.  "  It  is 
claimed  for  Professor  Silliman  that  he  was  the  first  to  establish 
this  transfer  of  the  particles  of  carbon,  and  the  first  also  to  fuse 
carbon  in  the  voltaic  arch."  (Caswell.) 

In  1819  he  established  the  highly  important  scientific  period- 
ical, the  American  Journal  of  Science,  with  which  his  name  is 
most  widely  associated,  and  of  which  he  was  the  sole  editor  for 
twenty  years,  and  the  senior  editor  for  eight  years  in  addition. 

In  1820  he  published  an  account  of  a  journey  from  Hartford 
to  Quebec,  in  1829  an  edition  of  Bakewell's  Geology,  with  an 
appendix  containing  a  summary  of  his  own  lectures  on  that  sub- 
ject, and  in  1830  the  whole  body  of  his  lectures  on  chemistry  at 
Yale,  under  the  title  of  "  Elements  of  Chemistry,  in  the  order 
of  the  lectures  given  in  Yale  College." 

From  1834  to  1845  Professor  Silliman  delivered  courses  of 
lectures  on  scientific  subjects  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  United 
States  from  Boston  to  New  Orleans.  He  visited  Europe  again 
in  1851,  and  in  1853  published  an  account  of  his  observations  in 
three  duodecimo  volumes. 

Regarding  Professor  Silliman's  labors,  Caswell  remarks  "  His 
special  field  was  the  diffusion  of  science;  and  his  special  gifts 


THE  INCORPORATORS  185 

and  acquirements  made  him  one  of  the  most  popular  scientific 
lecturers  in  the  country.  ...  It  seems  to  me  that  the  utility  of 
science,  in  its  broadest  sense,  was  always  uppermost  in  his  mind. 
He  is  always  tracing  abstract  principles  to  their  practical  appli- 


cations." 


(From  ALEXIS  CASWELL,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  99-112.) 

BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  JUNIOR 
Born,  December  4,  1816;  died,  January  14,  1885 

Benjamin  Silliman,  Junior,  was  born  in  New  Haven,  Decem- 
ber 4,  1816.  His  father  was  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Yale 
College,  and  the  son  spent  his  early  life  in  the  wholesome  intel- 
lectual atmosphere  of  that  institution.  He  graduated  from  Yale 
in  1837,  and  became  assistant  to  his  father  the  following  year, 
being  instructor  in  chemistry,  mineralogy,  and  geology.  In 
1842,  at  his  own  expense,  he  equipped  a  chemical  laboratory  in 
a  room  in  one  of  the  college  buildings  for  the  instruction  of 
private  pupils.  His  zeal  in  the  work  and  his  efforts  to  arouse  an 
interest  in  others  were  prominent  factors  in  the  founding  of  the 
Yale  Scientific  School,  now  known  as  the  Sheffield  Scientific 
School,  in  1847.  He  was  appointed  Professor  of  Applied 
Chemistry  in  1846,  and  succeeded  his  father  in  the  chair  of 
chemistry  in  1853.  This  position  he  held  until  his  death  on 
January  14,  1885.  From  1849  to  1854  ne  nao^  been  Professor  of 
Medical  Chemistry  and  Toxicology  at  the  University  of  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky. 

During  the  year  1847,  Professor  Silliman  visited  California 
and  engaged  in  professional  work  connected  with  the  mines  and 
made  extensive  geological  explorations.  He  also  delivered  an 
oration  before  the  College  of  California  in  1869.  As  an  expert 
in  chemical  arts  and  manufactures  he  was  often  called  by  the 
courts  to  testify  in  law  cases. 

He  also  delivered  popular  lectures  throughout  the  country. 
For  many  years  he  was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  American 
Journal  of  Science. 


1 86  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

His  collection  of  minerals  was  bought  by  Cornell,  and  called 
the  Silliman  Cabinet.  Another  collection  was  added  to  Yale 
College  Scientific  School,  and  Professor  Silliman  personally 
solicited  the  money  to  buy  the  mineralogical  collection  of  Baron 
de  Lederer  in  1843. 

During  the  World's  Fair  in  New  York  in  1853,  Professor 
Silliman  had  charge  of  the  departments  of  chemistry,  miner- 
alogy, and  geology,  and  in  1869  he  became  one  of  the  State 
Chemists  of  Connecticut. 

He  was  a  trustee  of  Peabody  Museum  and  a  member  of  numer- 
ous European  and  American  scientific  societies. 

Of  his  principal  writings,  the  "  First  Principles  in  Chem- 
istry "  was  published  in  1846,  and  "  Principles  of  Physics"  in 
1854,  and  "American  Contributions  to  Chemistry"  in  1875. 

Investigations  in  mineralogy  and  chemistry  formed  the  basis 
of  Professor  Silliman's  scientific  work,  but  he  engaged  also  in 
studies  relating  to  geology,  to  meteorites,  and  to  physical  optics. 

(See  ARTHUR  W.  WRIGHT,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  7,  pp.  115-141.) 

THEODORE  STRONG 
Born,  July  26,  1790;  died,  February  I,  1869 

Theodore  Strong  was  descended  from  Puritan  ancestors.  His 
father  Joseph  Strong  and  also  his  grandfather  were  clergymen  of 
the  Congregational  denomination.  His  mother,  Sophia  Wood- 
bridge,  was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Woodbridge  of  South 
Hadley,  Massachusetts.  In  this  town  Theodore  Strong  was  born 
on  July  26,  1790,  in  the  house  of  his  uncle,  Colonel  Benjamin 
Ruggles  Woodbridge.  Joseph  Strong,  having  a  large  family  of 
children  to  provide  for,  was  induced  to  transfer  the  respon- 
sibility for  the  education  and  training  of  his  son  Theodore  to 
Colonel  Woodbridge  by  whom  he  was  practically  adopted. 
Theodore  Strong's  schooling  began  at  an  early  age  and  when  he 
entered  Yale  College  at  eighteen  he  was  well  prepared  in  lan- 
guages, though  not  in  mathematics.  Having,  however,  on  one 
occasion  been  subjected  to  ridicule  by  a  classmate  for  his  poor 


THE  INCORPORATORS  187 

mathematical  recitation,  he  set  himself  to  master  the  science,  and 
in  1812,  when  he  was  graduated  from  college,  he  was  awarded 
the  mathematical  prize.  Immediately  after  graduation,  he  was 
recommended  by  Dr.  Dwight  (then  President  of  Yale)  for  a 
tutorship  of  mathematics,  then  vacant,  in  Hamilton  College, 
Clinton,  New  York.  He  accepted  the  position  and  held  it  for 
four  years,  after  which  he  became  Professor  of  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Philosophy.  He  found  more  time  for  study  and  re- 
search at  Hamilton  than  he  would  have  enjoyed  at  a  larger  insti- 
tion,  and  he  was  able  while  there  to  contribute  largely  to  a 
number  of  scientific  journals  and  magazines.  One  of  the  most 
prominent  of  these  was  the  American  Journal  of  Science,  to  the 
first  volume  of  which,  published  in  1818,  he  contributed  a  very 
clever  demonstration  of  a  geometrical  problem.  His  papers 
always  attracted  attention  because  of  their  originality  and  depth 
of  learning. 

His  reputation  as  a  man  of  power  and  originality  in  his  sub- 
ject was  constantly  growing,  and  in  1825-26  he  received  several 
calls  from  different  colleges  and  universities  to  accept  the  chair 
of  mathematics.  Late  in  1827  a  second  invitation,  which  was 
finally  accepted,  came  from  Rutgers  College,  in  New  Jersey, 
and  here  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  long  life.  In  1859,  the 
trustees,  thinking  that  he  needed  an  assistant,  as  he  was  then  69 
years  of  age,  appointed  an  associate  professor.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  he  published  his  work  on  algebra.  In  1861  he  was 
made  professor  emeritus,  and  two  years  later  severed  his  con- 
nection with  the  college.  In  spite  of  his  rather  advanced  age, 
he  was  in  full  possession  of  his  mental  faculties  and  employed 
this  time  in  writing  a  treatise  on  differential  and  integral  cal- 
culus, which,  however,  was  not  published  until  after  his  death. 
Both  this  and  his  treatise  on  elementary  and  higher  algebra, 
display  Strong's  profound  knowledge  of  these  branches  of 
mathematics,  and  the  remarkable  logical  power  of  his  mind. 
In  fact,  his  power  of  reasoning  was  far  better  than  his  memory, 
so  much  so  that  he  seldom  relied  on  the  latter  for  a  formula  or 
theorem,  but  worked  them  out  anew. 


1 88  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

In  the  field  of  pure  mathematics,  Dr.  Strong  was  one  of  the 
leading  minds  of  his  day.  But  two  of  his  contemporaries  among 
American  mathematicians  may  be  mentioned  as  sharing  his 
preeminence — Dr.  Bowditch  and  Dr.  Adrian — to  whom  and  to 
Dr.  Strong  more  than  to  any  others,  is  due  the  introduction  of 
the  study  of  the  higher  mathematics  into  the  schools  of  this 
country. 

(From  J.  P.  BRADLEY,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  2,  1 886,  pp.  1-28.) 

JOHN  TORREY 
Born,  August  15,  1796;  died,  March  10,  1873 

Although  most  widely  known  as  a  botanist,  Torrey's  life  was 
spent  as  a  professor  of  chemistry.  His  father,  William  Torrey, 
was  of  New  England  ancestry.  He  served  throughout  the 
Revolution  in  a  New  York  infantry  regiment  of  which  his  uncle, 
Joseph  Torrey,  was  a  major,  and  returned  to  that  city  at  the  close 
of  the  war.  Here  his  son,  John  Torrey,  was  born  on  August 
15,  1796.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of 
New  York  and  Boston.  While  still  a  youth,  he  became 
acquainted  with  Amos  Eaton,  who  taught  him  the  elements  of 
botany,  and  he  soon  developed  a  taste  for  other  branches  of 
natural  science.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  began  the  study 
of  medicine  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  three 
years  later  began  medical  practice  in  New  York.  His  first 
scientific  papers  were  published  while  he  was  still  a  medical 
student,  the  earliest  being  one  on  plants  growing  near  New  York, 
which  appeared  in  1817.  In  1824  he  published  the  first  volume 
of  his  "  Flora  of  the  Northern  and  Middle  Sections  of  the  United 
States,"  an  important  descriptive  work,  which,  however,  was 
never  completed.  The  same  year  he  became  Professor  of 
Chemistry,  Mineralogy  and  Geology  at  West  Point,  and  three 
years  later  transferred  his  field  of  labor  to  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York,  where  he  became  Pro- 
fessor of  Chemistry  and  Botany  ("  practically  that  of  chemistry 


THE  INCORPORATORS  189 

only,  for  botany  had  already  been  allowed  to  fall  out  of  the 
medical  curriculum  in  this  country  ").* 

While  in  this  position  he  published  many  important  botanical 
papers,  including  an  account  of  the  plants  collected  by  Edwin 
James,  the  botanist  of  Long's  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
the  first  part  of  which  appeared  in  1823.  In  1826  he  published 
a  fuller  account  of  the  botany  of  this  expedition  in  which  the 
plants,  for  the  first  time  in  an  American  botanical  publication, 
were  arranged  in  accordance  with  the  natural  system.  At  this 
time  he  began  the  study  of  the  sedges  of  the  genus  Garex,  and, 
jointly  with  Von  Schweinitz,  published  a  monograph  of  the 
genus  in  1825.  Some  ten  years  later  his  monograph  of  the  other 
North  American  Cyperaceae  appeared,  together  with  a  revision 
of  the  Carices. 

In  1836  Torrey  was  appointed  Botanist  of  the  State  of  New 
York  and  undertook  the  preparation  of  a  flora  of  the  State. 
After  many  delays  and  discouragements,  this  extensive  work  was 
published  in  1843  in  two  large  quarto  volumes.  "  No  other 
State  of  the  Union  has  produced  a  flora  to  compare  with  this." 
(Gray.) 

At  an  early  date  Dr.  Torrey  projected  a  flora  of  North 
America,  or  of  the  United  States.  About  1836  he  invited  Asa 
Gray,  then  his  pupil  in  botanical  studies,  to  join  him  in  the  enter- 
prise, and  in  1838  the  first  two  parts  of  the  first  volume  made 
their  appearance.  The  remainder  of  this  volume,  and  also  the 
second  were  published  between  1840  and  1842  and  the  third  and 
last  volume  in  1843.  From  this  time  nearly  to  the  close  of  his 
life  Torrey  labored  constantly  to  improve  and  extend  this  epoch- 
making  work. 

Torrey  published  a  long  series  of  papers,  many  of  them  large 
and  important  works,  on  the  botanical  collections  of  the  Govern- 
ment expeditions  and  surveys  of  the  West,  beginning  with  Long's 
Expedition  and  including  those  of  Nicollet,  Fremont,  Emory, 
Sitgreaves,  Stansbury,  and  Marcy,  and  of  the  surveys  of  the 
Pacific  Railroad  and  the  Mexican  Boundary. 

4  He  also  became  a  professor  in  Princeton  College. 
14 


190  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

These  botanical  labors,  as  already  mentioned,  were  supple- 
mentary to  his  regular  duties  as  a  teacher  of  chemistry  and  other 
branches  of  science,  which  he  performed  for  more  than  thirty 
years.  In  1857  Torrey  entered  upon  the  office  of  United  States 
Assayer,  and  while  thus  engaged  carried  out  many  commissions 
of  a  confidential  or  especially  difficult  nature. 

In  his  last  years,  as  professor  emeritus  in  Columbia  College, 
he  continued  to  lecture  at  intervals.  He  also  served  as  a  trustee 
of  the  College  and  bequeathed  to  it  his  very  valuable  herbarium 
and  his  botanical  library. 

Torrey  was  twice  President  of  the  New  York  Lyceum  of 
Natural  History  and  also  presided  over  the  American  Associa- 
tion for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  the  Cincinnati. 

(From  ASA  GRAY,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  265-276.) 

JOSEPH  GILBERT  TOTTEN 
Born,  August  23,  1788;  died,  April  22,  1864 

The  lifetime  of  General  Totten  extended  nearly  from  the  close 
of  the  Revolution  to  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  and  his  period 
of  public  service  covered  more  than  fifty  years.  He  was  born  in 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  August  23,  1788.  His  father,  Peter 
G.  Totten,  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Totten  who  came  to  America 
from  England  before  the  Revolution.  Totten's  mother  died 
when  he  was  three  years  old  and  his  father  having  been 
appointed  consul  of  the  United  States  at  Santa  Cruz,  in  the  West 
Indies,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  his  uncle  Jared  Mansfield, 
"  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  1777,  and  a  learned  mathe- 
matician." 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point  in  1802,  Mansfield  was  appointed  a  teacher  in  that  institu- 
tion. Young  Totten  accompanied  his  uncle  to  West  Point  and 
afterwards  was  appointed  a  cadet.  He  remained  in  the 
Academy  during  the  term  of  1803,  but  in  November  of  that  year 
his  uncle  Captain  Mansfield  became  Surveyor-General  of  Ohio 


THE  INCORPORATORS  191 

and  the  Western  Territories,  and  Totten  accompanied  him  to 
his  new  station  as  an  assistant.  While  in  Ohio,  his  inborn 
curiosity  regarding  novel  or  unusual  objects  and  phenomena  led 
him  to  make  a  description  and  survey  of  the  remains  of  the  so- 
called  "mound  builders,"  particularly  at  Circleville;  probably 
the  earliest  observations  on  these  singular  works. 

In  1808  Totten  re-entered  the  Army,  was  re-appointed  Second 
Lieutenant  of  Engineers,  and  began  his  career  as  military 
engineer.  He  was  assigned  to  duty  in  connection  with  the 
construction  of  Castle  Williams,  and  Castle  Clinton,  in  New 
York  harbor. 

During  the  War  of  1812  Totten  served  as  Chief  Engineer  of 
the  armies  under  command  of  Generals  Van  Rensselaer,  Dear- 
born, Izard  and  Macomb.  He  obtained  the  rank  of  captain  in 
1812,  and  was  brevetted  major  in  1813  for  "  meritorious  service," 
and  in  1814  lieutenant-colonel  for  "  gallant  conduct  at  the  battle 
of  Plattsburg." 

At  the  close  of  this  war,  Totten  entered  upon  the  most  im- 
portant epoch  of  his  career,  in  which  he  was  engaged  in  the  con- 
struction of  coast  defences.  Congress  in  1816  constituted  a  board 
of  engineers  whose  duty  was  to  formulate  a  system  of  defensive 
works.  After  some  vicissitudes,  the  permanent  board,  through 
circumstances  which  cannot  be  detailed  here,  finally  consisted  of 
General  Simon  Bernard  (an  eminent  French  engineer  who  was 
invited  to  America  to  assist  in  this  important  undertaking)  and 
Colonel  Totten. 

The  reports  of  this  board,  which  were  prepared  by  Colonel 
Totten,  "  exhibit  in  a  masterly  manner  the  principles  of  sea- 
coast  and  harbor  defence,  and  their  application  to  our  own 
country."  "  They  are  themselves  the  best  expressions  of  the 
life  labors  and  services  of  the  subject  of  our  memoir."  (Bar- 
nard.) These  plans  having  been  decided  upon,  Colonel  Totten 
was  assigned  to  the  construction  of  Fort  Adams  in  the  harbor  of 
Newport.  This  work,  "  the  second  in  magnitude  of  the  fortifi- 
cations of  the  United  States,  is  one  of  the  best  monuments  of 
genius  as  a  military  engineer."  (Barnard.) 


192  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

In  connection  with  the  construction  of  this  great  work,  Colonel 
Totten  instituted  extensive  investigations  into  the  qualities  and 
strength  of  materials,  the  expansion  and  contraction  of  building- 
stone  through  variations  in  temperature,  the  composition  of 
mortars,  and  many  other  matters  of  importance  in  engineering 
operations. 

While  engaged  in  the  construction  of  Fort  Adams,  Colonel 
Totten  also  served  as  a  member,  and  for  six  years  as  President,  of 
the  Board  of  Engineers  whose  duty  was  to  plan  new  works 
authorized  by  Congress.  His  advice  was  also  sought  in  con- 
nection with  various  harbor  improvements,  chiefly  on  the  Great 
Lakes. 

When  Fort  Adams  approached  completion  in  1838,  Totten 
was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  Corps  of  Engineers  and  Chief 
Engineer,  with  headquarters  in  Washington.  While  occupying 
this  high  office  he  directed  his  energies  toward  the  development 
of  the  system  of  coast  defences,  especially  in  the  South,  and 
personally  inspected  every  fort  in  the  United  States  at  intervals 
not  exceeding  two  years. 

During  the  Mexican  War,  Colonel  Totten  directed  the 
engineering  works  at  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  on  March  29, 
1847,  was  brevetted  a  brigadier-general  for  gallant  and  merito- 
rious conduct.  In  1855  General  Totten,  Commander  Charles  H. 
Davis  and  Professor  Bache,  by  invitation  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  served  as  an  advisory  commission  on  the  preservation  of 
the  harbor  of  New  York.  The  members  of  this  commission  had 
previously  reported  on  Cape  Fear  River  and  harbor,  and  on  the 
harbor  of  Portland,  Maine,  and  later  rendered  similar  service 
to  the  State  of  Massachusetts  relative  to  the  port  and  harbor  of 
Boston. 

To  General  Totten  is  due  the  credit  of  perfecting  the  case- 
mated  battery  and  casemate  embrasures.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  first  Lighthouse  Board  and  while  serving  in  this  capacity 
induced  the  board  to  accept  his  views  regarding  the  proper  site 
for  the  Minot's  Ledge  lighthouse,  prepared  the  plan  for  its 
construction,  and  selected  the  engineer  to  build  it.  He  was  a 


THE  INCORPORATORS  193 

member  of  the  first  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution and  favored  the  plan  of  Joseph  Henry  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  that  establishment. 

General  Totten  was  deeply  interested  in  many  branches  of 
natural  history,  and  particularly  in  mineralogy  and  conchology. 
While  Fort  Adams  was  under  construction,  he  spent  his  spare 
hours  in  collecting  shells  in  the  vicinity  of  Newport  and  also 
about  Provincetown,  Massachusetts.  He  published  descriptions 
of  several  new  species,  and  a  list  of  the  shells  of  Massachusetts, 
and  furnished  much  important  information  for  Gould's  "  Inver- 
tebrata  of  Massachusetts."  He  presented  his  collection  of  rare 
shells  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

(From  J.  G.  BARNARD,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  pp.  35-97-) 

JOSIAH  DWIGHT  WHITNEY 
Born,  November  23,  1819;  died,  August  19,  1896 

Josiah  Dwight  Whitney,  the  oldest  of  a  family  of  thirteen  chil- 
dren, was  of  English  ancestry.  Both  the  Dwight  and  Whitney 
families  were  descended  from  early  New  England  settlers,  who 
counted  in  their  numbers  graduates  of  Yale  and  Harvard,  college 
presidents,  able  business  men,  missionaries,  soldiers,  and  mem- 
bers of  all  the  professions.  Whitney  was  born  at  Northampton, 
Massachusetts,  November  23,  1819,  and  at  eight  years  of  age  left 
the  district  school  in  his  native  village  and  went  to  Plainfield, 
where  according  to  the  custom  of  the  day,  Rev.  Moses  Hallock 
took  boys  into  his  family  for  instruction.  After  further  school- 
ing at  Round  Hill,  Northampton,  New  Haven,  and  Andover,  he 
entered  Yale  College  as  a  sophomore  in  1836.  Returning  to 
New  Haven  after  graduation,  young  Whitney  entered  his 
father's  bank,  and  for  a  time  enjoyed  the  delights  of  a  cultured 
home,  where  music  played  a  prominent  part.  Art,  science,  music, 
law,  and  business  attracted  him  by  turn,  but  finally  in  1839  he 
yielded  to  his  love  for  chemistry  and  entered  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  to  study  under  Dr.  Robert  Hare.  The  following 
year  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Charles  T.  Jackson,  and 


194  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

under  him  assisted  in  the  Geological  Survey  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire.  Again  uncertain  as  to  a  remunerative  profession, 
Whitney  turned  to  the  law  and  was  about  to  enter  Harvard  Law 
School,  when,  on  the  advice  of  Dr.  Jackson,  his  father  offered  to 
send  him  to  Europe,  where  three  years  were  spent  in  travel  and 
study.  During  this  time  he  made  a  translation  of  Berzelius'  work 
on  blowpipe  analysis.  While  yet  at  Giessen,  Dr.  Jackson  offered 
Mr.  Whitney  the  position  of  first  assistant  in  the  Government 
Survey  of  the  Lake  Superior  Mines.  From  chemistry  his  atten- 
tion was  now  turned  to  geology  which  thenceforth  became  his 
special  study.  As  assistant,  or  as  the  head  of  a  division,  several 
years  were  spent  in  the  survey  of  the  Lake  Superior  mines  and  by 
the  knowledge  thus  acquired,  added  to  his  thorough  German 
training,  and  his  acquaintance  with  fossils,  Whitney  became 
an  acknowledged  mining  expert.  At  this  time  he  published  his 
work  on  The  Metallic  Wealth  of  the  United  States.  It  was 
written  at  Clover  Den  in  Cambridge,  "  an  old  bachelor  hall," 
where  Whitney  kept  his  own  extensive  library,  and  returned  after 
his  excursions  to  enjoy  the  society  of  other  scientists.  This  home 
was  given  up  at  his  marriage  in  1854.  In  1855  Whitney  became 
professor  in  the  University  of  Iowa,  his  chief  duties,  however, 
being  in  connection  with  the  state  geological  survey. 

A  Geological  Survey  of  California  was  established  in  1860  and 
Whitney  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  it.  Accompanied  by  a 
corps  of  able  assistants  he  left  Northampton  for  California  on 
October  18,  1860,  and  entered  upon  this  new  work  with  enthusi- 
asm. Many  important  features  of  the  geology  and  geography  of 
the  State  were  determined,  but  the  Survey  soon  encountered  diffi- 
culties, chiefly  of  a  political  and  pecuniary  character,  and  after 
a  precarious  existence  extending  over  fourteen  years,  it  was  finally 
abandoned.  Only  a  few  volumes  containing  the  results  of  the 
work  were  published. 

Whitney's  contributions  to  geology  were  numerous  and  many 
reports  of  official  work  were  published  at  his  own  expense.  In 
1875  he  was  re-appointed  to  the  Sturges-Hooper  Professorship 
of  Geology  at  Harvard  which  had  been  founded  ten  years  pre- 


THE  INCORPORATORS  195 

viously  largely  in  his  behalf,  and  also  became  a  member  of  the 
faculty  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology.  These  positions 
he  retained  until  his  death.  His  works  on  "  The  Climatic 
Changes  of  Later  Geologic  Times  "  and  on  the  "  Azoic  System  " 
were  written  during  this  period.  For  eight  years  Professor 
Whitney  gave  his  spare  time  to  assisting  his  brother  William 
D.  Whitney  in  connection  with  the  scientific  part  of  the  Century 
Dictionary. 

After  thirty-one  years  of  teaching  at  Harvard,  Professor 
Whitney  died  at  Lake  Sunapee,  New  Hampshire,  August  19, 
1896.  He  was  buried  at  Northampton  and  a  glacial  boulder  of 
rose  quartzite  of  the  geological  age  of  the  lead  district  about 
Galena  and  the  rocks  of  the  Upper  Michigan  which  border  the 
"  Azoic  System,"  marks  his  grave.  The  highest  peak  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  bears  his  name. 

( See  EDWIN  T.  BREWSTER,  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney," 
Boston,  1909.) 

JOSEPH  WINLOCK 
Born,  February  6,  1826;  died,  June  u,  1875 

Though  born  in  Kentucky,  Joseph  Winlock  was  of  Virginia 
stock.  His  grandfather,  after  whom  he  was  named,  was  a 
captain  in  the  Revolution  and  in  the  War  of  1812  held  the  rank 
of  brigadier-general.  In  the  latter  war  his  son,  Fielding  Win- 
lock,  served  as  his  aid. 

Professor  Joseph  Winlock  was  educated  at  Shelby  College, 
Kentucky,  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1845. 
His  abilities  were  already  so  manifest  that  he  at  once  received 
an  appointment  as  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Astronomy 
from  his  Alma  Mater.  In  1851  he  became  acquainted  with  "  the 
chief  of  American  mathematicians,"  who  recognized  his  intel- 
lectual capacity,  and  induced  him  to  join  the  corps  of  computers 
in  the  Nautical  Almanac  Office  in  Cambridge  the  following 
year.  He  served  in  this  capacity  until  1857,  when  he  received 
an  appointment  as  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  Naval  Ob- 
servatory at  Washington.  In  this  position  he  remained  but  a 


196  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

short  time,  after  which  he  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the 
Nautical  Almanac.  Not  long  afterwards,  in  1859,  he  was  given 
charge  of  the  mathematical  department  in  the  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis,  but  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  he  again  re- 
sumed the  office  of  Superintendent  of  the  Nautical  Almanac  in 
Cambridge.  During  the  years  in  which  he  was  connected  with 
this  office  he  made  many  contributions  to  mathematics  and 
astronomy,  the  most  important  of  which  was  his  series  of  tables 
of  Mercury. 

In  1866  Professor  Winlock  was  appointed  Professor  of 
Astronomy  in  Harvard  College  and  Director  of  the  Harvard 
Observatory.6  Here  he  exerted  himself  in  strengthening  the 
equipment  of  the  observatory  by  the  addition  of  many  important 
instruments  and  aids  to  astronomical  work.  The  transit  circle 
of  the  observatory,  a  costly  instrument,  had  proved  unsatisfactory, 
and  Winlock  succeeded  in  obtaining  funds  from  friends  of  the 
Observatory  to  replace  it.  To  arrange  for  the  construction  of  the 
new  instrument,  he  visited  the  principal  observatories  in  Europe 
in  1867.  He  also  devised  improvements  which  were  afterwards 
adopted  by  other  astronomers.  Between  1871  and  1875,  30,000 
observations  were  made  with  this  instrument,  under  Winlock's 
direction. 

In  1869,  Professor  Winlock  was  appointed  head  of  a  party  to 
cooperate  with  the  Coast  Survey  in  observing  the  total  eclipse  of 
the  sun  in  Kentucky.  On  this  occasion  he  succeeded  in  making 
the  first  photograph  of  the  solar  corona  made  during  any  eclipse. 
At  the  request  of  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey,  he 
organized  and  led  the  party  sent  to  Spain  to  observe  the  total 
eclipse  of  the  sun  occurring  on  December  22,  1870.  During  this 
eclipse  a  telescope  of  long  focus,  fixed  horizontally,  and  without 
an  eyepiece,  which  was  devised  by  Winlock  for  photographic 
work,  was  used  by  all  the  observers. 

Winlock  devised  many  improvements  in  spectroscopic  instru- 
ments, and  also  in  1872  greatly  improved  and  extended  the  time- 

5  At  a  later  date  he  also  held  the  position  of  Professor  of  Geodesy  in  the  Lawrence  and 
Mining  Schools  of  Harvard  College. 


THE  INCORPORATORS  197 

signal  service  between  Cambridge  and  Boston.  In  1874  he  was 
appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  chairman  of  a  commis- 
sion established  by  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  the 
causes  of  the  explosions  of  steam  boilers  and  formulated  plans 
for  experiments  which  should  test  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the 
accepted  theories,  but  he  was  not  destined  to  see  them  carried 
into  execution.  He  died  suddenly  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
on  June  u,  1875. 

(From  JOSEPH  LOVERING,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  vol.  I,  1877,  PP-  329-343-) 

JEFFRIES  WYMAN 
Born,  August  II,  1814;  died,  September  4,  1874 

Jeffries  Wyman,  the  third  son  of  Dr.  Rufus  Wyman,  was 
born  on  August  u,  1814,  at  Chelmsford,  near  Lowell,  Mas- 
sachusetts. In  1818,  his  father  moved  to  Somerville  where  he 
was  one  of  the  physicians  at  the  McLean  Asylum.  The  early 
schooling  of  Jeffries  Wyman  began  in  Charlestown,  Massachu- 
setts, and  later  he  was  sent  to  the  Academy  at  Chelmsford.  He 
became  interested  in  natural  history  when  very  young,  and  often 
searched  for  objects  of  interest  along  the  Charles  River,  near  his 
home.  His  talent  for  drawing  also  developed  early,  and  he 
afterwards  used  it  to  great  advantage  in  the  lecture-room.  He 
entered  Harvard  in  1829,  was  graduated  in  1833,  and  the  next 
year  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  John  C.  Dalton. 
He  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1837,  and 
began  his  work  in  Boston  by  acting  as  demonstrator  of  anatomy 
under  a  well-known  comparative  anatomist,  Dr.  J.  C.  Warren. 
This  occupation  was  not  very  lucrative,  and  was  often  a  source 
of  discouragement,  but  Wyman  pursued  his  scientific  studies  in 
connection  with  his  medical  work,  and  never  entirely  gave  them 
up. 

At  about  this  time  the  Lowell  Institute  was  founded,  and  John 
A.  Lowell,  who  was  then  in  charge  of  its  affairs,  offered  Wyman 


198  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

the  curatorship.  During  the  season  of  1840-41,  he  delivered 
twelve  lectures  on  comparative  anatomy  and  physiology,  and 
with  the  means  thus  procured  went  to  Europe,  where  he  came 
in  contact  with  many  prominent  men  of  science,  such  as  De 
Blainville,  St.  Hilaire,  and  Valenciennes.  His  sojourn  was 
shortened  by  the  illness  and  death  of  his  father.  In  1843,  after 
his  return,  he  was  made  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology 
at  Hampton  Sidney  College  in  Richmond,  Virginia.  In  1847 
he  succeeded  Dr.  Warren  to  the  Hersey  chair  of  anatomy  at 
Harvard  College. 

While  here  he  established  and  developed  a  museum  of  com- 
parative anatomy  to  which  he  devoted  all  of  his  spare  time. 
On  the  many  trips  he  made  both  North  and  South,  he  gathered 
great  numbers  of  valuable  specimens  and  added  them  to  the 
collections  in  his  museum,  which  was  afterwards  incorporated 
with  that  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History. 

He  spent  the  winter  of  1852  in  Florida  on  account  of  bad 
health,  but  in  spite  of  his  malady  he  was  able  at  intervals  to 
make  investigations  of  the  Indian  shell-heaps,  the  results  of 
which  were  afterwards  published.  Later,  he  made  many  trips 
to  the  coast  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  and  examined  shell- 
heaps  in  as  many  as  twenty-five  localities,  securing  several  thou- 
sand specimens.  In  1856  he  made  an  expedition  to  Surinam,  and 
the  same  year  was  elected  President  of  the  Boston  Society  of 
Natural  History,  which  office  he  held  for  fourteen  years.  In 
1858-9,  he  went  to  the  La  Plata,  and  after  ascending  the  Uruguay 
and  Parana  rivers  crossed  the  continent  to  Santiago  and  Val- 
paraiso, with  his  friend  G.  A.  Peabody,  returning  home  by  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama. 

In  1866  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and 
Ethnology  was  founded  by  George  Peabody,  and  Wyman  was 
appointed  one  of  the  seven  trustees.  By  vote  of  the  board,  he 
was  named  as  curator  of  the  museum.  In  the  duties  of  this  office 
there  was  great  scope  for  Wyman's  ability  and  enthusiasm  and 
though  he  worked  at  all  times  under  the  disadvantage  of  ill 


THE  INCORPORATORS  199 

health,  he  accomplished  much  for  the  museum.  He  was  obliged, 
however,  to  spend  his  winters  in  Florida,  and  once  or  twice  he 
visited  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  recuperating.  Thus  he  con- 
tinued until  the  summer  of  1874  wnen  he  unfortunately  under- 
took an  unusual  amount  of  work  in  the  museum,  enough  indeed 
to  overtax  the  strength  of  a  man  physically  sound.  In  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  he  went  to  the  White  Mountains  for  a  short  rest, 
but  he  was  unable  to  regain  his  energies  and  died  on  September 
4,  quite  suddenly,  while  in  Bethlehem,  New  Hampshire.  Dr. 
Wyman's  lack  of  physical  vigor  was  probably  the  prime  rea- 
son why  he  was  not  a  voluminous  writer.  His  papers  though 
numerous  are  generally  brief.  He  often  summarized  in  a  few 
pages  the  conclusions  to  which  he  had  come  after  months,  per- 
haps, of  painstaking  experiments.  He  wrote  on  many  different 
zoological  subjects,  and  his  published  papers  relate  to  numerous 
classes  of  animals  both  recent  and  fossil,  and  to  physiology  and 
teratology,  as  well  as  to  anatomy. 

One  of  the  most  important  and  best  known  of  his  scientific 
papers  is  that  on  the  Gorilla,  of  which  he  was  the  joint  author 
with  Dr.  Savage,  who  sent  him  specimens  for  study.  This  great 
anthropoid  ape  was  here  first  described  under  the  name  of 
Troglodytes  gorilla,  and  Dr.  Wyman  gave  a  full  account  of  the 
skeleton.  It  was  this  article  which  helped  to  establish  his  reputa- 
tion among  comparative  anatomists.  He  also  published  an 
elaborate  essay  on  the  anatomy  of  the  blind  fish  of  the  Mammoth 
Cave,  another  on  the  homology  of  limbs,  and  a  third  on  the  rela- 
tionship between  vertebrates  and  invertebrates,  based  on  a  study 
of  the  nervous  system  of  the  frog.  His  most  original  essay  in 
physiology  was  one  relating  to  experiments  on  vibrating  cilia, 
published  in  1871. 

His  anthropological  writings  were  marked  by  care,  ingenuity, 
judiciousness  and  extensive  knowledge,  and  gave  him  rank 
among  the  principal  anthropologists  of  his  day.  Besides  the 
work  on  shell-heaps  already  referred  to,  he  made  numerous 
studies  of  human  crania. 


200  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Wyman  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Association 
of  American  Geology  and  Natural  History,  and  President  of 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in 
1857;  also  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  Museum  of  Com- 
parative Zoology. 

(From  A.  S.  PACKARD,  in  Biographical  Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  2,  1886,  pp.  75-126.) 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  ACADEMY  AS  THE  SCIENTIFIC  ADVISER  OF 
THE  GOVERNMENT 

THE  Academy  started  out  in  the  stormy  days  of  the  Civil 
War  with  the  idea  and  the  intention  of  helping  the 
Government.  It  has  helped  the  Government.  Its  re- 
ports have  been  accepted,  its  recommendations  have  been 
adopted,  and  the  Government  has  shaped  its  course  in  several 
matters  of  importance  in  the  light  of  the  counsel  which  it 
received  from  the  Academy.  If  it  has  not  sought  that  counsel  as 
frequently  and  as  eagerly  as  the  founders  hoped  and  expected, 
the  defection  has  been  due  rather  to  the  changes  which  time  has 
wrought  in  the  public  service,  than  to  any  lack  of  confidence  in 
the  counsellors. 

In  an  earlier  chapter  we  have  shown  that  the  idea  of  helping 
the  Government  was  prominent  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the 
founders  of  the  Academy,  that  it  was  incorporated  in  the  charter 
and  constitution,  and  that  Professor  Bache  and  others  thought 
that  in  this  direction  lay  a  very  important — if  not  the  most  im- 
portant, function  of  the  Academy.  It  remains  now  to  consider 
more  in  detail  to  what  extent  and  on  what  subjects  the  advice  of 
the  Academy  has  been  sought  by  the  Government,  how  far  its 
recommendations  have  been  adopted,  and  what  results  have 
followed.  It  will  be  readily  understood  that  with  the  increase 
of  large  scientific  organizations  in  the  country,  the  growth  of 
public  opinion  relative  to  scientific  matters  of  more  or  less 
practical  importance,  and  the  development  of  the  scientific 
bureaus  of  the  Government,  it  has  happened  less  frequently  that 
the  Academy  has  stood  alone  in  its  recommendations.  Even  at 
the  outset  some  of  the  committees  appointed  to  consider  questions 
of  public  policy  were  joint  committees  of  the  Academy  and  of 
other  kindred  organizations,  or  had  among  their  members 


2OI 


202  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

officers  of  the  Government,  who  were  detailed  to  assist  in  the 
deliberations.  It  is  well  to  note  also  that  from  the  beginning  the 
membership  of  the  Academy  included  many  officers  of  the 
Government  and  that  these  were  frequently  selected  to  serve  on 
committees  of  the  Academy.  On  one  occasion  at  least  this  led  to 
some  embarrassment,  for  the  reason  that  through  this  double 
relationship  it  was  thought  that  the  views  of  subordinate  officers 
might  control  the  action  of  those  higher  in  authority. 

As  might  be  expected,  there  has  been  no  regularity  in  the 
number  of  committees  appointed  on  behalf  of  the  Government 
from  year  to  year.  As  many  as  seven  have  been  appointed  in  a 
single  year,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  two  periods  of  five  years 
each  passed  in  which  no  calls  were  received  from  Congress  or 
the  Executive  Departments.  The  records  show,  however,  that 
of  the  whole  number  of  committees  more  than  one-third  were 
appointed  in  the  first  five  years.  After  this  the  number  fell  off  in 
a  marked  manner,  but  increased  again  during  the  decade  be- 
ginning with  1878.  Between  that  year  and  1888,  twenty  com- 
mittees were  appointed.  In  the  twenty-four  years  that  have 
elapsed  since  1888,  only  seven  committees  have  been  appointed. 

The  subjects  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Academy  by  the 
Government  have  covered  a  wide  range,  but  among  them, 
matters  in  which  physics,  astronomy  and  chemistry  were  con- 
cerned have  predominated.  It  should  be  remarked,  however, 
that  some  of  the  most  important  questions  which  the  Academy 
has  been  asked  to  consider,  have  not  related  to  any  particular 
branch  of  science,  but  rather  to  matters  of  public  policy. 

On  the  general  subject  of  committees  appointed  at  the  request 
of  the  Government,  Professor  Bache  in  his  first  report  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Academy  remarked  as  follows : 

"  It  was  obvious  that  the  only  effective  and  prompt  mode  of  action  by  members 
scattered  over  the  United  States,  as  were  the  fifty  named  in  the  charter,  must  be 
through  committees.  Action  must  originate  with  committees,  and  be  perfected 
by  discussion  in  the  general  meetings  of  the  Academy,  or  in  the  classes  or  sections. 
Decisions  to  be  finally  pronounced  by  the  entire  body. 

"  To  avoid  delay  in  reports  which  might  be  desired  by  the  government  to  be 
promptly  furnished,  the  President  of  the  Academy  was  authorized  to  transmit 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          203 

such  reports  on  their  reception.  It  has  not  appeared  to  me,  except,  perhaps,  in 
one  case,  and  in  that  the  conclusions  of  the  Committee  had  not  reached  me,  that 
there  was  occasion  to  present  the  reports  until  they  had  been  discussed  in  the 
Academy  itself,  and  the  views  had  been  adopted ;  especially  as  this  was,  as  I  have 
said  before,  a  first  trial  of  the  working  of  our  organization.  One  of  the  committees 
thus  acting  has  been  able  to  meet  so  often,  and  with  so  many  members  at  a 
meeting,  as  to  show  that  in  important  cases,  where  consultation  and  discussion 
must  be  had,  there  will  be  little  difficulty  in  effecting  meetings;  while  in  most 
cases  correspondence  amply  suffices  for  the  settlement  of  the  questions  involved, 
and  to  bring  out  the  results  in  the  form  of  a  report  with  suggestions. 

"  It  will  be  seen  by  the  spirit  and  words  of  our  laws,  enacted  by  the  authority 
of  the  charter,  that  the  members  of  the  National  Academy  put  their  time  and 
talents  at  the  disposal  of  the  country  in  no  small  or  stinted  measure,  freely,  fully, 
by  the  binding  authority  of  an  oath;  asking  no  compensation  therefor  but  the 
consciousness  of  contributing  to  judicious  action  by  the  government  on  matters 
of  science.  The  more  the  wealth  of  such  men  can  be  drawn  out  from  the 
treasury  of  their  knowledge,  the  richer  will  the  nation  be;  and  I  for  one  do  not 
fear  that  even  the  suggestions  which  may  be  made  to  Congress  on  subjects  in  which 
that  knowledge  may  be  most  profitably  employed  for  our  country  and  times,  will 
be  subject  to  any  supposed  taint  of  self-seeking  as  to  power  or  influence.  Subject 
to  the  taint  of  supposed  desire  for  remuneration  it  cannot  be,  by  our  charter,  and 
all  our  laws  look  away  from  such  a  center."  x 

COMMITTEES  APPOINTED  BY  THE  ACADEMY  ON  BEHALF 
OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 

1.  Committees  appointed  in  accordance  with  Acts  of  Congress. 

1871.  On  the  Transit  of  Venus  (p.  256). 

1872.  On  Preparing  Instructions  for  the  Polaris  Expedition  (p.  40). 

1878.  On  a  Plan  for  Surveying  and  Mapping  the  Territories  of  the 

United  States  (p.  268). 

1879.  On  a  National  Board  of  Health  (p.  50). 

1894.  To  Prescribe  and  Publish  Specifications  for  the  Practical  Appli- 
cation of  the  Definitions  of  the  Ampere  and  Volt  (p.  313). 

1908.  On  the  Methods  and  Expenses  of  Conducting  Scientific  Work 
Under  the  Government  (p.  330). 

2.  Committees  appointed  at  the  request  of  Joint  Commissions 

and  Committees  of  Congress. 

1884.  On  the  Signal  Service  of  the  Army,  the  Geological  Survey,  the 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  and  the  Hydrographic  Office  of 
the  Navy  Department  (p.  295). 

1  Ann.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  1863-6,  pp.  49,  50.    For  an  annotated  list  of  committees  to  1879,  see 
Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1879,  pp.  7-13. 


204  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

1902.  On  the  Establishment  of  a  National  Forest  Reserve  in  the  South- 
ern Appalachians  (p.  323). 

3.  Committees  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  President  of  the 

United  States. 

1870.  On  the  Protection  of  Coal  Mines  from  Explosion  by  Means  of 

Electricity  (p.  253). 
1902.  On  Scientific  Explorations  in  the  Philippines  (p.  325). 

4.  Committees  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 

ment. 

1863.  On  the  National  Currency  (Confidential). 
1863.  On  Weights,  Measures,  and  Coinage  (p.  206). 

1863.  On  Saxton's  Alcoholometer  (p.  218). 

1864.  On  Materials  for  the  Manufacture  of  Cent  Coins  (p.  227). 
1866.  On  the  Prevention  of  Counterfeiting  (p.  331). 

1866.  On  Spirit  Meters  (p.  239). 

1866.  On  Proving   and    Gauging    Distilled    Spirits    and    Preventing 

Fraud  (p.  239). 

1866.  On  Metric  Standards  for  the  States  (p.  211). 
1870.  On  the  Effect  of  Chemicals  on  Internal  Revenue  Stamps   (p. 

254). 

1873.  On  an  International  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures  (p.  212). 
-1875.  On  Water-proofing  the  Fractional  Currency  (p.  261). 

1875.  On  Means  of  Distinguishing  Calf's  Hair  from  Woolen  Goods 

(Confidential). 

1876.  On  Artificial  Coloring  of  Sugars  to  Simulate  a  Lower  Grade 

According  to   the   Standard   on  which   Duties  are   Levied 
(Confidential). 

1876.  On  the  Use  of  Polarized  Light  to  Determine  the  Values  of 

Sugars  (p.  264). 

1877.  On  Demerara  Sugars  (p.  264). 

1878.  On   Building   Stone   to   be   used    for   the   Custom    House   at 

Chicago.     (No  report.) 
-1882.  On  the  Separation  of  Methyl  Alcohol,  or  Wood  Spirits,  from 

Ethyl  Alcohol  (p.  291). 
-1882.  On  Glucose  (p.  293). 
1882.  On  Triangulation  Connecting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Coasts. 

(No  report.) 

1884.  On  Philosophical  and  Scientific  Apparatus  (p.  302). 
^885.  On  the  Tariff  Classification  of  Wools  (p.  306). 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          205 

^1886  and  1887.  On  the  Morphine  Content  of  Opium  (p.  309). 

1887.  On  Quartz  Plates  used  in  Saccharimeters  for  Sugar  Determi- 
nations (p.  308). 

1890.  To  Formulate  a  Plan  for  a  Systematic  Search  for  the  North 
Magnetic  Pole  (p.  311). 

5.  Committees  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  Navy  Depart- 

ment. 

1863.  On  Protecting  the  Bottoms  of  Iron  Vessels  (p.  213). 

1863.  On  Magnetic  Deviation  in  Iron  Ships  (p.  215). 

1863.  On  Wind  and  Current  Charts  and  Sailing  Directions  (p.  219). 

1864.  On  the    Explosion    on    the    United    States    Steamer    Chenango 

(P-  230). 

1864.  On  Experiments  on  the  Expansion  of  Steam  (p.  226). 
1877.  On  Proposed  Changes  in  the  American  Ephemeris  (p.  267). 
1 88 1.  On  the  Transit  of  Venus  (p.  256). 
1885.  On  the  Astronomical  Day,  the  Solar  Eclipse  of  1886,  and  the 

Erection  of  a  New  Naval  Observatory  (p.  303). 

6.  Committees  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  War  Department. 

1 864.  On  the  Question  of  Tests  for  the  Purity  of  Whiskey  ( p.  225 ) . 

1866.  On  the  Preservation  of  Paint  on  Army  Knapsacks.    (No  report.) 

1867.  On  Galvanic  Action  from  Association  of  Zinc  and  Iron  (p.  232). 
1873.  On  the  Exploration  of  the  Yellowstone.     (No  report.) 

1 88 1.  On  Questions  of  Meteorological  Science  and  Its  Applications 
(p.  290). 

7.  Committees  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  Department  of 

State. 

1866.  On  the  Improvement  of  Greytown  Harbor,  Nicaragua  (p.  247). 
1903.  On  the  Restoration  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  (p.  279). 

8.  Committees  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  Department  of 

Agriculture. 

1870.  On  Silk  Culture  in  the  United  States  (p.  331). 
.-1881.  On  Sorghum  Sugar  (p.  284). 

9.  Committees  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  Department  of 

the  Interior. 

—1880.  On  the  Restoration  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  (p.  279). 
1896.  On  the  Inauguration  of  a  Rational  Forest  Policy  for  the  Forested 
Lands  of  the  United  States  (p.  314). 

'5 


206  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

COMMITTEE  ON  WEIGHTS,  MEASURES,  AND  COINAGE.     1863 

Five  committees  were  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  Govern- 
ment within  a  month  after  the  organization  of  the  Academy. 
The  first  of  these,  which  was  known  as  Committee  No.  i,  was 
appointed  at  the  solicitation  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
Salmon  P.  Chase,  on  May  4,  1863,  not  to  consider  any  question 
relating  to  the  conduct  of  the  Civil  War,  but  on  the  subject  of  the 
"  Uniformity  of  weights,  measures  and  coins,  considered  in  rela- 
tion to  domestic  and  international  commerce."  Secretary  Chase 
had  previously  referred  to  this  matter  in  his  annual  report  for 
1861,  p.  28,  as  follows: 

"  The  Secretary  desires  to  avail  himself  of  this  opportunity  to  invite  the  atten- 
tion of  Congress  to  the  importance  of  a  uniform  system  and  a  uniform  nomencla- 
ture of  weights  and  measures,  and  coins  to  the  commerce  of  the  world,  in  which 
the  United  States  already  so  largely  shares.  The  wisest  of  our  statesmen  have 
regarded  the  attainment  of  this  end,  so  desirable  in  itself,  as  by  no  means  impos- 
sible. The  combination  of  the  decimal  system  with  appropriate  denominations  in  a 
scheme  of  weights,  measures,  and  coins  for  the  international  uses  of  commerce, 
leaving,  ff  need  be,  the  separate  systems  of  the  nations  untouched,  is  certainly  not 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  daring  genius  and  patient  endeavor  which  gave  the 
steam  engine  and  the  telegraph  to  the  service  of  mankind."  2 

The  committee  was  originally  one  of  eight  members,  namely, 
Joseph  Henry  (chairman),  J.  H.  Alexander,  Fairman  Rogers 
Wolcott  Gibbs,  Arnold  Guyot,  Benjamin  Silliman,  Jr.,  Wm. 
Chauvenet,  John  Torrey.  To  these  members  were  added  A.  D. 
Bache,  by  resolution  of  the  Academy,  John  Rodgers,  L.  M. 
Rutherfurd  and  Samuel  B.  Ruggles.  Ruggles  was  not  a  member 
of  the  Academy,  but  was  designated  in  accordance  with  a  pro- 
vision of  the  constitution  which  permitted  the  President  "  to  call 
in  the  aid,  upon  committees,  of  experts,  or  men  of  remarkable 
attainments,  not  members  of  the  Academy."  (Act  2,  sect.  4.) 
He  was  the  delegate  of  the  United  States  to  the  International 
Statistical  Congress  held  in  Berlin  in  1863. 

The  original  committee  was  discharged  in  1866,  but  the 
following  year  another  committee  was  appointed  under  the  same 

3  Rep.  Seer.  Treas.  for  1861,  p.  28. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT           207 

name.  It  became  a  standing  committee,  and,  although  rated  as 
a  committee  on  business  of  the  Academy,  it  has  reported  a  num- 
ber of  times  on  matters  referred  to  the  Academy  by  the  Govern- 
ment. During  the  forty-six  years  that  have  elapsed  since  1867, 
twenty-two  members  of  the  Academy  have  served  on  this  com- 
mittee, including  three  who  belonged  to  the  original  Committee 
No.  i.  These  are  J.  H.  Alexander,  F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  C.  B.  Corn- 
stock,  Henry  Draper,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  B.  A.  Gould,  Henry, 
Hilgard,  Levering,  Meigs,  Mendenhall,  Michelson,  Morley, 
Newcomb,  H.  A.  Newton,  C.  S.  Peirce,  Saxton,  Sellers,  W.  P. 
Trowbridge,  Webster,  R.  S.  Woodward,  Young. 

In  regard  to  the  subject-matter  which  the  original  Committee 
No.  i  was  to  consider,  Professor  Bache  remarked  in  his  first 
report  as  President  of  the  Academy  (1863),  as  follows: 

"  It  is  not  a  little  strange  in  our  country,  where  the  decimal  system  of  coinage 
proved  at  once  acceptable,  notwithstanding  the  capital  errors  committed  in,  for 
a  long  time,  keeping  in  use  foreign  coins  of  no  convenient  relation  to  the  decimal 
system,  that  nothing  of  the  kind  was  effected  for  weights  and  measures,  and  still 
more  strange  that  the  antiquated  and  cumbrous  variety  of  tables  by  which  articles 
of  different  classes  were  bought  and  sold  should  have  been  retained,  that  even  in 
our  preparation  of  a  national  system  intended  for  practical  use  neither  the  deci- 
malization of  the  weights  and  measures  nor  the  simplicity  of  one  weight  of  one 
name  should  have  been  adopted.  The  influence  of  great  names  can  alone  probably 
explain  this,  without  justifying  it."  3 

The  proceedings  of  the  committee  were  not  reported  in  full, 
but  Professor  Bache  informs  us  that  "  the  discussions  in  the  body 
of  this  committee  were  strongly  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  the 
French  metrical  system,  but  more  strongly,  in  fact  unanimously, 
in  favor  of  the  effort  to  arrive  at  a  thorough  international 
system — a  universal  system  of  weights,  measures,  and  coins, 
available  for  the  general  acceptance  of  all  nations."  4 

It  will  readily  be  understood  that  the  committee  was  not  pre- 
pared to  submit  at  once  a  general  report  on  so  comprehensive 
and  important  a  matter.  They  adopted  the  plan  of  dividing  into 
subcommittees,  each  of  which  should  inquire  into  the  system  of 
weights  and  measures  employed  by  one  or  more  countries.  Hav- 

3  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863,  p.  4. 

4  Loc.  cit. 


208  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

ing  made  known  this  arrangement  to  the  Academy  on  January  9, 
1864,  the  committee  was  continued,  with  power  to  act.  Two 
years  later,  on  January  27,  1866,  the  committee  submitted  its 
first  definite  report  in  the  following  terms: 

"  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Weights,  Measures,  and  Coinage,  to  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  January,  1866. 

"The  Committee  are  in  favor  of  adopting,  ultimately,  a  decimal  system;  and, 
in  their  opinion,  the  metrical  system  of  weights  and  measures,  though  not  without 
defects,  is,  all  things  considered,  the  best  in  use.  The  Committee  therefore  suggest 
that  the  Academy  recommend  to  Congress  to  authorize  and  encourage  by  law  the 
introduction  and  use  of  the  metrical  system  of  weights  and  measures;  and  that 
with  a  view  to  familiarize  the  people  with  the  system,  the  academy  recommend 
that  provision  be  made  by  law  for  the  immediate  manufacture  and  distribution  to 
the  custom-houses  and  States  of  metrical  standards  of  weights  and  measures;  to 
introduce  the  system  into  the  post  offices  by  making  a  single  letter  weigh  fifteen 
grammes  instead  of  fourteen  and  seventeen  hundredths  or  half  an  ounce;  and 
to  cause  the  new  cent  and  two-cent  pieces  to  be  so  coined  that  they  shall  weigh, 
respectively,  five  and  ten  grammes,  and  that  their  diameters  shall  be  made  to 
bear  a  determinate  and  simple  ratio  to  the  metrical  unit  of  length."  5 

This  report  was  considered  by  the  Academy  and  was  trans- 
mitted to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Hugh  McCulloch, 
with  a  letter,  signed  by  Joseph  Henry,  Vice-President  of  the 
Academy,  giving  the  views  of  the  majority  and  minority  on  the 
general  question  under  consideration.  This  very  interesting 
communication  was  as  follows: 6 

"  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

"  February  17,  1866. 

"  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  herewith  to  transmit  a  report  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences  on  weights,  measures,  and  coinage,  adopted  at  its  late  meeting  in 
January,  after  considerable  discussion,  but  not  with  entire  unanimity. 

"  The  subject  is  one  of  much  perplexity.  While,  on  the  one  hand,  it  is  evident 
that  a  reform  of  our  present  system  of  weights  and  measures  is  exceedingly- 
desirable,  on  the  other,  the  difficulty  of  adopting  the  best  system  and  of  introducing 
it  in  opposition  to  the  prejudice  and  usages  of  the  people  is  also  apparent. 

"  The  entire  adoption  of  the  French  metrical  system  involved  the  necessity  of 
discarding  our  present  standard  of  weights  and  measures — the  foot,  the  pound, 
the  bushel,  the  gallon — and  the  introduction  in  their  place  of  standards  of 
unfamiliar  magnitudes  and  names. 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1865,  p.  5. 
*  Loc .  cit.,  p.  4. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          209 

"  Such  a  change,  in  my  opinion,  can  only  be,  in  a  government  like  ours,  the 
work  of  time  and  through  the  education  of  the  rising  generation,  for  this  purpose, 
should  the  resolution  now  before  Congress  to  establish  a  bureau  of  education  be 
adopted,  the  French  metrical  system  might  be  taught  under  the  sanction  of  the 
government  in  all  the  common  schools  of  the  country. 

"  The  system,  however,  is  not  considered  by  many  as  well  adapted  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  mind  as  one  which  might  be  devised,  and  it  was  therefore  the  opinion  of  a 
minority  of  the  academy,  that,  could  England  and  the  United  States  agree  upon 
a  system  for  adoption,  it  would  in  all  probability  in  time  become  universal. 

"  The  argument  in  favor  of  the  French  metrical  system  is,  however,  that  it 
has  been  already  adopted  in  whole  or  in  part  in  several  nations. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  JOSEPH  HENRY, 

"  Vice  President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 
"  HON.  H.  McCuLLocH, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  " 

The  recommendations  of  the  Academy  reached  Congress 
either  through  the  President  or  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
and  were  printed  in  the  report  of  the  House  Committee  of  the 
39th  Congress  on  Coinage,  Weights  and  Measures  on  the  bills 
relating  to  the  metric  system  then  pending.  This  report  begins 
as  follows: 

"  In  considering  the  general  subject  of  a  uniform  system  of  coinage,  weights 
and  measures,  your  committee  had  before  them — 

"  First.  That  part  of  the  message  of  the  President  and  accompanying  docu- 
ments relating  to  these  subjects. 

"  Second.  The  report  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  embracing  their 
resolutions  approving  the  metric  decimal  system  of  weights  and  measures. 

"  Third.  The  report  of  the  United  States  commissioner  to  the  statistical  con- 
gress at  Berlin.7 

"  Fourth.  Various  memorials  of  universities  and  colleges  of  the  United  States, 
urging  a  uniform  system  of  weights  and  measures,  also  invariably  commending 
the  metric  decimal  system. 

"  Fifth.  The  petition  of  the  mayor,  judges,  and  citizens  of  Baltimore  praying 
for  the  adoption  of  the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures. 

"  Sixth.  Several  memorials  of  citizens  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States 
in  behalf  of  the  same  object. 

"  Seventh.  The  bill  H.  R.  no.  252,  referred  to  them,  and  proposing  the  com- 
pulsory and  exclusive  use  after  a  limited  period,  of  the  metric  system 

7  Hon.  Samuel  B.  Ruggles. 


210  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  .  .  .  .  They  also  received  the  assistance  of  those  distinguished  members  of 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  who  constitute  the  special  committee  of  that 
learned  society  having  charge  of  these  subjects,  and  particularly  Professor 
Newton,  of  that  committee,  whose  efforts  in  aid  of  their  purposes  have  been 
patient  and  persevering."  8 

After  this  follows  a  resume  of  the  history  of  the  coinage, 
weights  and  measures  of  the  United  States,  Great  Britain  and 
France,  and  a  comparison  of  the  existing  weights  and  measures 
with  the  metric  system.  Finally,  on  page  20  of  the  report  of 
the  House  Committee  it  is  said  "  Your  committee  unanimously 
recommend  the  passage  of  the  bills  and  the  joint  resolutions 
appended  to  this  report.  They  were  not  prepared  to  go,  at  this 
time,  beyond  this  stage  of  progress  in  the  proposed  reform." 
The  reasons  are  then  given  and  the  report  concludes  with  a  list 
of  the  bills  recommended.  These  are  as  follows : 

"  A  bill  making  it  lawful  to  use  the  metric  system. 

"  A  joint  resolution  directing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  furnish  metric 
standards  to  the  States. 

"  A  bill  to  authorize  the  use  in  the  post  offices  of  weights  of  the  denomination 
of  grams.9 

"  A  joint  resolution  to  authorize  the  President  to  appoint  a  special  commissioner 
to  facilitate  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  coinage  between  the  United  States  and 
foreign  countries." 

The  bills  legalizing  the  use  of  the  metric  system,  directing  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  furnish  metric  standards  to  the 
States,  and  authorizing  the  use  in  post-offices  of  weights  of  the 
denomination  of  grams  passed  the  House  on  May  17,  1866,  with- 
out discussion. 

8  House  of  Representatives,  39th  Congress,  ist  Session.  Report  no.  62.  Coinage,  Weights 
and  Measures.  (To  accompany  bills  House  Res.  nos.  596  and  597,  and  House  Res.  no.  141.) 
May  17,  1866.  Ordered  to  be  printed,  p.  i. 

'The  text  of  this  bill  is  as  follows: 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  etc.,  That  the  Postmaster 
General  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  directed  to  furnish  to  the  post  offices  exchang- 
ing mails  with  foreign  countries,  and  to  such  other  offices  as  shall  think  expedient,  postal 
balances  denominated  in  grams  of  the  metric  system,  and  until  otherwise  provided  by  law, 
one-half  ounce  avoirdupois  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  for  postal  purposes  as  the  equivalent 
of  fifteen  grams  of  the  metric  weights,  and  so  adopted  in  progression;  and  the  rates  of 
postage  shall  be  applied  accordingly." 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT           211 

They  were  brought  up  in  the  Senate  on  July  27,  1866,  by 
Senator  Sumner,  who  made  a  speech  on  their  merits,  and  were 
passed  on  that  day  without  discussion.  The  last  two  above 
mentioned  were  approved  on  the  same  day,  July  27,  1866,  and 
the  first  on  July  28,  1866. 

Thus,  it  appears  that  in  this  instance  the  recommendations  of 
the  Academy  were  received  and  accepted  by  Congress,  and  that 
the  action  taken  was  in  accord  therewith.  It  is  clearly  a  case 
in  which  the  Academy  helped  the  Government. 

At  the  same  time  at  which  the  use  of  metric  measures  was 
legalized,  Congress  enacted  a  law  enabling  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  to  supply  a  set  of  the  standards  to  each  of  the  States 
of  the  Union.  The  Secretary  requested  the  National  Academy 
to  advise  him  as  to  the  kind  and  form  of  standards  that  should 
be  furnished,  the  material  of  which  they  should  be  made,  and  the 
proper  means  of  verifying  them.  The  request  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Weights  and  Measures  which  reported  to  the 
Academy  at  the  meeting  of  August,  1867.  The  report  was 
transmitted  to  the  Treasury  Department  and  the  recommenda- 
tions which  it  contained  were  adopted.10 

Congress  passed  a  third  act  at  the  same  time  with  the  other  two, 
as  we  have  seen,  authorizing  the  use  in  post-offices  of  weights  of 
the  denomination  of  grams.  The  Academy  appears  not  to  have 
been  directly  concerned  in  the  passage  of  this  measure,  but  at 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  following  year  (1867)  a  resolution  was 
adopted  to  the  effect  that  the  Academy  considered  it  "  highly 
desirable  that  the  discretionary  power  granted  by  Congress  to 
the  Postmaster-General  to  use  the  metrical  weights  in  the  post 
offices  (should)  be  exercised  at  the  earliest  convenient  day."  As 
we  have  noted  in  a  previous  chapter,  a  committee  was  appointed 
in  1868  to  urge  upon  the  Postmaster-General  the  importance  of 
adopting  the  action  mentioned  in  this  resolution,  but  no  results 
followed  at  that  time. 

The  interest  of  the  National  Academy  in  metric  measures 
did  not  end  with  these  proceedings.  It  will  be  recalled  that  two 

10  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1879,  p.  13. 


212  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

international  conferences  were  held  in  Paris  to  consider  the 
question  of  preparing  new  metric  standards,  one  in  1870  and  the 
second  in  1872.  In  this  connection  a  proposition  was  put  for- 
ward for  the  establishment  of  an  international  bureau  of  weights 
and  measures,  and  the  matter  was  submitted  to  various  govern- 
ments including  that  of  the  United  States  for  consideration.  It 
was  brought  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  March  7,  1873, 
to  the  attention  of  the  Academy  which  in  turn  referred  it  to  the 
Committee  on  Weights  and  Measures.  On  June  13  of  that  year 
a  report  was  transmitted  to  the  Treasury  Department. 

Two  years  later,  in  1875,  tne  metric  convention  at  Paris  voted 
for  the  establishment  of  an  international  metric  bureau  and  in 
April  of  that  year,  as  was  noted  in  an  earlier  chapter,  the 
Academy  adopted  resolutions  proclaiming  its  belief  in  the  use- 
fulness of  such  a  bureau,  and  its  "  solicitude  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  should  ratify  the  convention  prepared 
to  that  effect."  A  copy  of  the  resolutions  was  transmitted  to 
the  President,  with  a  request  for  his  favorable  consideration. 
This  letter  was  as  follows : 12 

"  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES, 

"WASHINGTON,  May  3,  1875. 
"  To  the  President. 

"  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you  herewith,  in  conformity  with  a 
resolution  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  expression  of  their  opinion  of 
the  usefulness  of  an  International  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures,  which  is 
now  the  subject  of  a  diplomatic  conference  at  Paris,  and  of  their  solicitude  that 
this  Government  should  ratify  the  convention  which  has  been  prepared  to  that 
effect,  and  to  ask  your  favorable  consideration  of  the  same. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  JOSEPH  HENRY, 
"  President  National  Academy  of  Sciences." 

"  Upon  this  recommendation  the  convention  was  ratified  by  the 
United  States  Senate."  13  It  was  signed  at  Paris,  May  20,  1875, 
the  United  States  being  the  first  to  sign.14 

11  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1879,  P-  13- 
"Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  in. 

13  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1879,  p.  13. 

14  Encycl.  Amer.,  vol.  10,   1904,  article  Metric  System. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          213 

Further  action  in  regard  to  the  metric  system  was  taken  by  the 
Academy  in  1879,  besides  that  mentioned  on  the  preceding  pages. 
This  was  in  the  form  of  resolutions  urging  that  instruction  in 
the  principles  of  the  metric  system  be  introduced  into  the  schools 
and  colleges,  that  laws  be  enacted  by  Congress  requiring  the  use 
of  metric  weights  in  the  domestic  mail  service,  and  that  the 
weights  of  coins  be  expressed  in  grams  and  milligrams  rather 
than  in  grains  and  fractions  of  grains. 

COMMITTEE  ON  PROTECTING  THE  BOTTOMS  OF 
IRON  VESSELS.     1863 

The  second  committee  appointed  during  the  Civil  War  had 
for  its  task  the  consideration  of  means  for  protecting  the  bottoms 
of  iron  ships  from  injury  by  salt  water.  It  was  appointed  May 
9,  1863,  at  the  request  of  the  Navy  Department,  communicated 
by  Admiral  Davis  May  8,  1863.  This  was  a  short-lived  com- 
mittee. It  made  a  brief  report  on  January  9,  1864,  and  was  dis- 
charged. 

The  substance  of  the  report  was  that,  though  many  plans  for 
protecting  the  hulls  of  iron  ships  had  been  devised,  no  one  of 
them  had  proved  sufficiently  effective  to  justify  the  committee 
in  recommending  it  for  use  in  the  Navy. 

It  was  suggested  that  experiments  should  be  tried  by  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Academy  in  case  means  were  provided.  No  means 
being  forthcoming,  however,  the  investigations  were  never 
undertaken  by  the  Academy,  although  the  laboratory  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  was  placed  at  its  disposal. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  committee,  which  included 
among  the  members  the  Sillimans  and  Wolcott  Gibbs,  should 
have  been  unable  to  make  any  suggestions  in  the  line  of  the 
inquiry  with  which  it  was  concerned,  but  it  appears  that  the  com- 
position of  paints,  and  the  effectiveness  or  non-effectiveness  of 
different  mixtures  against  corrosion  and  the  fouling  of  ships  has 
only  recently  been  the  subject  of  scientific  investigations.  We 
learn  from  the  writings  of  Naval  Constructor  Henry  Williams 
that  it  has  only  been  within  the  last  five  or  ten  years  that  the 


214  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

United  States  Navy  has  conducted  experiments  with  paints. 
Prior  to  that  time  commercial  brands  of  paints  were  adopted, 
and  when  a  vessel  was  painted  with  a  particular  kind  that  kind 
was  ever  afterwards  used  for  the  same  vessel.  This  practice 
proved  both  inconvenient  and  expensive,  and  in  1906  the  Navy 
Department  began  a  series  of  experiments  to  determine  what 
mixtures  were  most  effective  to  prevent  corrosion  and  fouling. 
The  experiments  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  a  paint,  known  in 
the  service  as  the  "  Norfolk  paint,"  for  practically  all  vessels 
of  the  navy,  two  formulas  being  used,  one  for  an  anticorrosive 
paint  and  the  other  for  an  antifouling  paint.  Mr.  Williams 
remarks : 

"  Estimates  made  in  1910  of  the  cost  of  paint  for  the  bottoms  of  all  vessels  on 
the  navy  list,  using  the  kinds  of  proprietary  brands  of  paint  that  were  purchased 
usually  prior  to  1908  and  distributed  among  the  ships  in  the  proportions  of  each 
brand  then  customary  and  at  the  prices  then  current,  show  that  the  cost  of  paint 
for  a  single  painting  of  the  bottoms  of  all  vessels  of  the  navy,  not  including  coal 
barges,  etc.,  under  the  conditions  noted,  would  have  been  somewhat  more  than 
$100,000.  The  cost  of  an  equal  amount  of  the  Norfolk  ship's  bottom  paint  at  the 
prevailing  cost  of  manufacture  would  be  less  than  $33,000.  As  a  majority  of  the 
vessels  of  the  navy  are  painted  twice  a  year,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  annual  saving 
to  the  government  by  this  means  at  the  present  time  is  probably  not  less  than 
$100,000  annually.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  largely  as  a  result  of  the 
government  entering  the  field  with  its  own  paint  the  prices  asked  for  ship's 
bottom  paint  by  various  firms  previously  supplying  the  navy  has  been  so  reduced 
that  if,  for  expediency  or  for  some  other  reason,  the  Navy  Department  decided  in 
the  future  to  purchase  all  or  a  portion  of  its  ship's  bottom  paint,  there  still  would 
remain  an  appreciable  saving  to  be  credited  to  the  Norfolk  paint."  15 

He  further  remarks  on  this  subject: 

"  The  question  of  protecting  the  underwater  bodies  of  sea-going  ships  always 
has  been  vital,  and  since  the  use  of  steel  for  hulls  has  become  general,  a  suitable 
paint  for  this  purpose  has  been  in  demand.  Various  manufacturers  offer  com- 
merically,  generally  under  proprietary  names,  so-called  ship's  bottom  paints  or 
compositions,  which  are  designed  to  effect  the  double  purpose  of  protecting  the 
bottom  plating  from  the  corrosive  action  of  sea-water  and,  also,  of  preventing  the 
attaching  of  the  various  marine  growths,  such  as  grass,  barnacles,  hydroids,  etc. 
The  necessity  for  the  periodic  docking  of  ships,  often  at  intervals  of  less  than 

18  Engineering  News,  vol.  66,  no.  5,  August  3,  1911,  p.  138. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          215 

6  months,  bears  witness  to  the  fact  that  so  far  no  satisfactory  ship's  bottom 
paint  has  been  produced ;  those  in  general  use  represent  the  best  available,  but  all 
leave  much  to  be  desired."  16 

The  foregoing  comments  on  the  subject  of  ships'  paint,  which 
are  from  an  authoritative  source,  and  of  very  recent  date,  serve 
to  make  it  clear  why  the  committee  of  the  Academy  was  unable 
to  recommend  definite  compositions,  or  mixtures,  and  to  justify 
it  in  proposing  that  experiments  be  made  to  determine  the  rel- 
ative effectiveness  of  different  substances.  If  the  subject  of 
ships'  paints  is  still  open  to  investigation,  it  is  obvious  that  its 
condition  a  half  century  ago  must  have  been  much  more  unsatis- 
factory. 

COMMITTEE  ON  MAGNETIC  DEVIATION  IN  IRON  SHIPS.   1863 

The  committee  known  as  Committee  No.  3,  or  "  the  Compass 
Committee,"  was  appointed  on  May  20,  1863,  at  the  request  of 
the  Navy  Department,  communicated  by  Rear-Admiral  Davis 
on  May  8,  1863,  and  had  a  direct  bearing  on  the  operations  of  the 
Navy  during  the  Civil  War.  It  grew  out  of  a  commission 
appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  accordance  with  an 
Act  of  Congress  "  to  make  experiments  for  the  correction  of  local 
attraction  in  vessels  built  wholly  or  partly  of  iron,"  approved 
March  3,  1863,  the  same  day  as  that  on  which  the  Act  of  Incor- 
poration of  the  Academy  was  approved.  When  the  Academy 
had  been  organized,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  turned  the  matter 
over  to  it,  requesting  that  it  would  "  investigate  and  report  upon 
the  subject  of  magnetic  deviation  in  iron  ships."  The  similarity 
of  the  personnel  of  the  two  bodies — the  commission  and  the  com- 
mittee— is  of  strong  interest  in  connection  with  the  present  his- 
tory. We  learn  from  Professor  Bache  that  the  Commission  of 
the  Navy  Department  consisted  of  himself  as  chairman,  Joseph 
Henry,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  Benjamin  Peirce,  and  W.  P.  Trowbridge. 
The  committee  of  the  Academy  was  the  same,  with  the  addition 
of  Charles  H.  Davis  and  Fairman  Rogers.  This  transformation 

18  Engineering  News,  vol.  66,  no.  5,  August  3,  1911,  p.  136. 


21 6  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

goes  far  to  convince  us  of  the  truth  of  Admiral  Davis'  assertion 
that  the  practical  plan  for  the  organization  of  an  Academy  was 
suggested  by  the  Commission  of  the  Navy  Department.  There 
appear  to  have  been  several  such  commissions  and  the  one  under 
consideration  performed  other  duties  besides  the  particular  one 
for  which  it  was  established.  It  met  in  New  York  on  March 
19,  1863,  to  act,  by  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  "  as  a 
scientific  committee  to  superintend  the  placing  of  the  standard 
compass  on  board  the  United  States  steamer  Circassian,  and  to 
examine  the  correction  and  register  of  its  deviations."  Its 
second  meeting  while  acting  in  this  capacity  was  held  in  New 
York,  April  21,  1863,  the  day  before  that  on  which  the  Academy 
met  for  organization,  and  on  which  a  committee  drafted  the 
constitution.  Not  only  so,  but  the  committee  met  in  the  same 
place  as  the  Naval  Commission — the  Brevoort  House — and 
three  of  the  members  of  the  committee  were  also  members  of 
the  Commission.  These  coincidences  and  relationships  reveal 
to  us  how  close  was  the  interaction  between  the  Naval  Commis- 
sion and  the  leading  spirits  in  the  founding  of  the  Academy. 

This  committee  performed  an  extraordinary  amount  of  work 
and  prepared  a  detailed  report  which  covers  73  printed  pages. 
It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  men  charged  with  many  onerous 
duties  could  devote  so  much  energy  to  a  special  investigation, 
until  one  considers  the  condition  of  the  times.  Not  only  were 
many  of  the  ordinary  activities  of  life  suspended  or  retarded  by 
war,  but  every  loyal  citizen,  and  especially  every  officer  of  the 
Government,  felt  that  he  had  a  patriotic  duty  to  perform  in  aid- 
ing, as  far  as  in  him  lay,  to  sustain  the  cause  of  the  Union. 

The  Civil  War  happened  at  a  time  when  iron  ships  were  fast 
superseding  wooden  ones.  The  Navy  had  in  commission  or 
under  construction  in  May,  1863,  some  88  vessels,  the  majority 
of  which  had  wooden  hulls  protected  above  the  water-line  by 
plates  of  iron.  These  were  known  as  iron-clads.  The  vessels 
with  iron  hulls  were  mainly  prizes.  They  were  built  in  England 
and  employed  as  blockade-runners.  The  rigging  of  some  vessels 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          2 17 

was  all  of  rope,  of  others  part  iron  and  part  rope,  and  still  others, 
all  iron.  The  decks  of  wooden  vessels  were  also  often  of  iron. 

Vessels  at  this  time  appear  to  have  carried  several  compasses 
which  were  sometimes  arranged  in  pairs,  and  were  placed  in 
what  were  thought  to  be  the  most  convenient  locations.  The 
presence  of  large  masses  of  iron,  often  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  compasses  caused  a  large  and  variable  amount  of  deviation 
on  which  account  navigation  was  at  times  extremely  precarious. 
Various  plans  had  been  proposed  from  time  to  time  for  overcom- 
ing the  local  attraction,  some  of  which  seem  strange  indeed,  such 
as  setting  the  compasses  in  iron  pots  four  inches  thick,  placing 
them  in  zinc  cases  packed  with  charcoal,  etc.  The  method  which 
seems  to  have  been  most  effective  was  the  one  invented  by  the 
English  astronomer  Airy,  which  consists  in  counteracting  the 
local  attraction  by  means  of  bar  magnets  placed  in  suitable  loca- 
tions. The  committee  of  the  Academy  adopted  this  method  for 
the  war  vessels  which  they  inspected,  making  use  of  the  services 
of  an  expert,  A.  D.  Frye,  of  New  York,  to  carry  it  into  practical 
effect.  They  supervised  the  correction  of  the  compasses  on  27 
vessels  of  all  kinds,  including  sloops,  monitors,  gunboats,  pro- 
pellers, side-wheel  steamers,  tugs  and  transports,  and  were 
occupied  in  the  task  from  March  until  late  in  September.  Some 
of  the  vessels  were  at  New  York,  others  at  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
and  Hampton  Roads.  At  Philadelphia  a  compass  station  had 
not  been  established,  and  at  the  request  of  the  Bureau  of  Naviga- 
tion, one  member  of  the  committee,  Fairman  Rogers,  gave 
personal  attention  to  the  ship  Ticonderoga,  which  was  lying 
there,  and  made  a  special  report  to  the  committee. 

In  addition,  Charles  A.  Schott  and  G.  W.  Dean,  assistants  in 
the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey,  made,  by  direction  of  Professor  Bache, 
an  extended  series  of  magnetic  observations  on  the  first-rate  iron- 
clad Roanoke  and  the  monitor  Passaic  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy 
Yard,  and  also  some  experiments  in  the  iron-clad  Monadnock 
at  the  Charlestown  Navy  Yard. 


21 8  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

COMMITTEE  ON  SAXTON'S  ALCOHOLOMETER.     1863 

While  the  purpose  of  this  committee  was  to  advise  the  Govern- 
ment, it  was  peculiar  in  that  it  was  appointed  at  the  request  of 
a  member  of  the  Academy  to  examine  the  invention  of  another 
member.  The  request  came  from  Professor  Bache  who  was  at 
once  President  of  the  Academy  and  Superintendent  of  the 
United  States  Weights  and  Measures,  while  Saxton,  whose  in- 
vention was  to  be  reported  upon,  was  a  member  of  the  Academy. 

The  committee,  which  was  appointed  May  25,  1863,  consisted 
of  John  F.  Frazer,  Joseph  G.  Totten,  F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  and 
William  Chauvenet.  The  hydrometer  which  the  committee  was 
to  examine  was  patented  by  Saxton,  who,  however,  took  occasion 
to  address  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  Academy  to  the  follow- 
ing effect:  "  In  taking  out  a  patent  for  the  hydrometer  I  do  not 
intend  to  interfere  with  its  free  use  by  the  government.  My 
object  in  patenting  it  is  to  have  control  of  its  manufacture  in 
private  establishments  only."  " 

Saxton  was  a  man  of  unusual  inventive  genius  and  had  devised 
many  curious  and  useful  mechanisms.  Among  them  was  this 
novel  form  of  hydrometer  which  he  believed  superior  to  that 
used  by  the  Treasury  Department.  It  consisted  of  a  glass  bulb 
of  spheroidal  form,  to  which  was  attached  a  chain  of  one  hun- 
dred links,  which  were  smaller  in  proportion  as  they  were 
nearer  the  lower  end  of  the  chain.18  The  instrument  was  so 
constructed  that  when  placed  in  pure  water  the  bulb  and  the 
whole  of  the  chain  were  suspended,  while  if  placed  in  absolute 
alcohol  the  bulb  alone  remained  suspended  and  the  chain  of  one 
hundred  links  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  containing  the  fluid. 
The  percentage  of  alcohol  in  any  given  mixture  of  alcohol  and 
water  could  be  determined  by  counting  the  number  of  links  that 
remained  suspended  in  the  liquid.  This  instrument  was  readily 
portable  and  was  so  small  that  it  could  be  placed  in  a  box  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  one  inch  high.18 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863,  p.  97. 
"  Loc.  cit.,  p.  96. 
19  Lor.  cit.,  p.  6. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          219 

At  the  time  this  new  instrument  was  under  consideration,  the 
Bureau  of  Internal  Revenue,  which  was  organized  the  preceding 
year,  was  employing  Tralles'  hydrometer,  which,  as  is  well 
known,  is  a  special  form  of  Gay  Lussac's  hydrometer.  It  was  not 
entirely  satisfactory,  as  the  committee  pointed  out,  for  the 
reason  that  the  scale  was  not  easily  read,  and  because  it  was 
difficult  to  make  the  proper  allowance  for  capillary  attraction. 
The  committee,  which  reported  on  January  7,  1864,  recom- 
mended in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  Saxton's  alcoholometer  by 
the  Government  on  the  ground  that  it  was  more  portable  than 
Tralles',  less  easily  broken,  and  less  difficult  to  read,  although  the 
opinion  was  expressed  that  it  would  be  reliable  only  in  careful 
hands. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WIND  AND  CURRENT  CHARTS  AND  SAILING 

DIRECTIONS.     1863 

This  committee  was  the  fifth  among  those  appointed  in  1863. 
The  explanatory  note  regarding  it  contained  in  the  Annual  of 
the  Academy  for  the  year  is  as  follows :  "  Appointed  May  25th, 
1863,  at  the  request  of  the  Navy  Department,  conveyed  through 
Rear- Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  May  230!,  1863,  asking  for  an  investi- 
gation and  report  on  the  subject  of  discontinuing  the  publication, 
in  the  present  form,  of  the  Wind  and  Current  Charts  and  Sailing 
Directions." 

The  history  of  these  publications,  the  circumstances  that 
brought  them  to  the  attention  of  the  Academy,  the  character  of 
the  committee  that  passed  on  them,  and  the  verdict  of  science 
regarding  them  are  all  matters  of  more  than  ordinary  interest. 

They  were  devised  by  Matthew  Fontaine  Maury,  whose 
singular  career  may  be  summarized  for  the  benefit  of  those  not 
already  acquainted  with  it.  Maury  who  was  a  Virginian  by 
birth,  entered  the  Navy  in  1825  and  a  few  years  .later  was 
detailed  to  join  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition.  As  an 
officer  of  the  ship  Vincennes,  he  circumnavigated  the  globe.  In 
1836  he  reached  the  grade  of  lieutenant  and  became  astronomer 
to  the  expedition.  Three  years  later  he  met  with  an  accident 


220  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

which  caused  him  to  be  permanently  lame.  He  became  in- 
terested during  his  cruise  with  the  Vincennes  and  on  subsequent 
voyages  in  studying  the  winds  and  other  phenomena  of  the  ocean. 
Rendered  incapacitated  for  active  service  by  the  accident  which 
he  encountered,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Depot  of  Charts 
and  Instruments,  in  the  Navy  Department.  Out  of  this  office 
a  little  later  grew  the  Hydrographic  Office  and  the  United 
States  Naval  Observatory.  Maury  became  the  head  of  both 
these  establishments.  After  it  had  become  impossible  for  him 
to  make  meteorological  observations  himself  he  inaugurated  a 
system  of  distributing  specially  prepared  log-books  to  captains 
of  vessels  in  which  they  might  keep  a  daily  record  of  winds  and 
other  phenomena  of  different  parts  of  the  ocean. 

The  data  thus  obtained  were  intended  to  lighten  the  labors  of 
navigators,  and  it  was  expected  that  by  the  study  of  them  sailing 
captains  would  be  enabled  to  determine  upon  the  best  course 
in  different  latitudes  and  would  be  informed  regarding  the 
character  of  the  storms  and  winds  which  they  might  encounter. 
The  data  were  published  by  the  Government  in  a  series  of  charts 
and  books  which  are  described  as  follows  in  the  report  of  the 
committee : 

"  The  publications  submitted  to  the  committee  consist  of  seventy-six  charts  of 
large  dimensions,  measuring  generally  twenty-four  inches  by  thirty-five  or 
six  within  the  borders,  and  classified  into  six  distinct  series,  distinguished  by  the 
letters  A  to  F.  These  classes  are  entitled  severally,  '  Track  Charts,'  '  Trade 
Wind  Charts,'  '  Pilot  Charts,'  '  Thermal  Charts,'  '  Storm  and  Rain  Charts,' 
and  '  Whale  Charts.'  Besides  these  there  are  two  thick  quarto  volumes  of 
letter  press,  embracing  pp.  xxxxi,  383,  and  viii,  874,  respectively.  The  first  of 
these  volumes  is  illustrated  by  sixty-three  engraved  plates,  some  of  them  colored, 
and  the  second  by  six.  Supplementary  to  these  are  three  thin  tracts,  also  in 
quarto,  entitled,  '  Nautical  Monographs,'  and  embracing  in  all  pp.  48  and  five 
plates."  20 

In  addition,  Maury,  as  is  well  known,  published  a  treatise 
entitled  "  The  Physical  Geography  of  the  Sea,"  and  several  other 
works.  The  publication  of  the  meteorological  data  led  to  the 
organization  of  an  international  congress  in  1853,  and  later,  when 

20  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863,  p.  98. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          221 

the  British  Meteorological  Office  was  established,  Maury's  log- 
books were  adopted.  In  recognition  of  his  services  to  navigation 
and  meteorology,  Maury  received  many  medals  and  decorations 
from  European  societies  and  Governments. 

Regarding  the  value  of  Maury's  work  Sir  John  Murray  and 
Dr.  Johan  Hjort  recently  remarked  as  follows: 

"  Maury's  work  had  important  consequences,  for  ship-masters  following  his 
directions  shortened  the  voyage  between  North  America  and  England  by  ten  days, 
that  from  New  York  to  California  by  about  forty-five  days,  and  that  from  Eng- 
land to  Australia  and  back  by  more  than  sixty  days.  The  profit  derived  from  the 
use  of  Maury's  charts  by  British  ship-owners  on  the  East  India  route  alone 
amounted  to  10  million  dollars  yearly. 

"  On  Maury's  suggestion  it  was  decided,  at  an  international  congress  at 
Brussels  in  1853,  that  numbers  of  log-books  should  be  sent  out  with  captains  of 
ships  for  the  purpose  of  entering  observations  of  wind  and  weather,  of  currents, 
and  of  temperatures  at  the  sea-surface.  This  plan  has  been  followed  ever  since, 
the  notes  being  as  a  rule  entered  once  every  watch,  so  that  a  formidable  pile  of 
material  has  now  been  amassed.  Up  to  1904  the  Meteorological  Office  in 
London  had  collected  7  millions  of  these  notes,  the  Deutsche  Seewarte  in  Ham- 
burg more  than  io£  millions,  the  Dutch  Meteorological  Institute  in  DeBilt  3^ 
millions,  the  Hydrographical  Bureau  at  Washington  5-J  millions,  and  so  on."  21 

Upon  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  Maury  resigned  his  office 
under  the  United  States  Government  and  threw  in  his  fortunes 
with  his  native  State.  Being  unfit  for  active  service,  he  went  to 
England  to  reside  and  later  became  commissioner  of  immigra- 
tion for  Emperor  Maximilian  of  Mexico.  On  returning  to 
England  in  1866  he  was  given  a  banquet  in  honor  of  his  services 
as  a  hydrographer,  which  was  attended  by  many  eminent  naval 
officers  and  scientific  men  of  England  and  other  parts  of  Europe. 
On  this  occasion  he  was  presented  with  a  purse  of  3000  guineas, 
collected  by  popular  subscription.  His  last  years  were  spent 
as  Professor  of  Physics  at  the  University  of  Virginia. 

When  Maury  left  the  Naval  Observatory  on  April  15,  1861, 
his  meteorological  data,  records  and  papers  fell  into  the  hands  of 
James  Melville  Gilliss,  who  two  days  later  was  appointed  to 
succeed  him  as  the  head  of  the  Naval  Observatory. 

a  Depths   of   the   Ocean,   by    Sir   John   Murray   and   Dr.    Johan    Hjort,   London,    1912, 
pp.  214,  215. 

16 


222  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

In  September  of  the  following  year  the  Navy  Department  was 
reorganized  and  the  Observatory  was  included  in  the  new 
Bureau  of  Navigation  of  which  Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis 
became  the  head.  It  appears  that  the  publication  of  the  charts 
and  sailing  directions  was  unfinished,  and  the  question  arose  in 
the  Department  whether  it  should  be  continued.  This  question 
was,  on  the  suggestion  of  Admiral  Davis,  referred  to  the  recently- 
organized  Academy  of  Sciences.22 

The  Academy  appears  to  have  considered  the  question  one 
of  special  difficulty  and  importance,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  size 
and  character  of  the  committee  appointed  to  report  on  it.  This 
was  a  committee  of  twelve  members,  ten  of  whom  were  ap- 

"The  correspondence,  as  given  in  the  Report  of  the  Academy  for  1863,  pp.  6,  7,  is  as 
follows : 

"BUREAU  OF  NAVIGATION,  NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 

"  Washington,  May  21,  1863. 

"Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  department  that  the  charts  and  sailing  directions 
published  by  the  late  superintendent  of  the  Observatory,  at  the  expense  of  the  government, 
are  regarded  by  hydrographers  and  scientific  men  as  being  prolix  and  faulty,  both  in  matter 
and  arrangement,  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  the  limited  amount  of  original  information 
which  they  actually  contain  costly  and  inaccessible. 

"  I  am  prepared  to  recommend  the  discontinuance  of  the  publication  of  these  charts  and 
sailing  directions.  But  in  order  that  this  question  of  discontinuance  may  be  decided  with 
deliberation,  I  have  to  request  permission  to  refer  it  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences, 
for  investigation,  and  report  to  this  department. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  CHARLES  H.  DAVIS, 

"  Chief  of  the  Bureau. 
"  HON.  GIDEON  WELLES, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy." 

"BUREAU  OF  NAVIGATION,  NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 

"  Washington,  May  23,  1863. 

"Sir:  I  transmit  herewith  a  copy  of  a  letter  addressed  by  me  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  on  the  subject  of  discontinuing  the  publication,  in  the  present  form,  of  the  '  Wind 
and  Current  Charts,'  and  '  Sailing  Directions,'  accompanying  them ;  and  now,  with  the 
approval  of  the  department,  I  have  the  honor  to  refer  the  same  subject  to  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  for  investigation  and  report,  requesting  that,  on  account  of  the 
expense  and  the  public  interest,  it  may  receive  early  attention. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  CHARLES  H.  DAVIS, 

"  Chief  of  the  Bureau. 
"  PROFESSOR  A.  D.  BACHE, 

"  President  National  Academy  of  Sciences." 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT           223 

pointed  on  May  25,  and  the  remaining  two  a  little  later.  The 
personnel  was  as  follows:  F.  A.  P.  Barnard  (chairman),  J.  H. 
Alexander,  Wm.  Chauvenet,  J.  F.  Frazer,  J.  E.  Hilgard,  Joseph 
Winlock,  Alexis  Caswell,  J.  H.  C.  Coffin,  Arnold  Guyot,  Ben- 
jamin Peirce,  J.  P.  Lesley,  J.  D.  Dana. 

The  report  of  the  committee,  which  was  handed  in  on  January 
9,  1864,  more  than  seven  months  after  its  appointment,  occupies 
fifteen  pages,  and  treats  of  the  different  aspects  of  the  publication 
of  the  charts  and  sailing  directions  considerably  in  detail.  It 
begins  with  a  brief  account  of  the  size,  number  and  character  of 
the  publications  which  were  examined,  and  then  discusses  the 
purposes  which  they  appeared  to  have  been  intended  to  serve. 
It  points  out  that  up  to  the  year  1858  more  than  200,000  copies 
of  the  "  Wind  and  Current  Charts  "  and  20,000  copies  of  the 
"  Sailing  Directions "  had  been  distributed,  from  which  it 
resulted  that  the  publications  and  their  compiler,  Maury,  had 
become  widely  known. 

After  showing  that  although  the  publications  were  primarily 
intended  to  serve  practical  ends  they  had,  nevertheless,  been 
regarded  in  part  as  containing  the  results  of  scientific  investiga- 
tion, the  committee  discusses  them  from  both  points  of  view. 

Its  opinion  regarding  both  the  scientific  and  the  practical 
merits  of  the  publications  was  unfavorable.  On  the  scientific 
side,  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  which  was  fortified  by  quota- 
tions from  the  French  writers  Bourgois  and  Lartigue,  was  that 
the  generalizations  contained  in  the  Sailing  Directions  did  not 
follow  from  the  data  collected,  that  many  of  the  data  were  left 
out  of  consideration,  and  that  the  principles  enumerated  were 
not  correctly  based. 

On  the  practical  side,  the  opinion  of  the  committee  was  that 
while  the  data  presented  were  valuable,  the  form  in  which  they 
appeared  was  such  as  to  confuse  rather  than  aid  and  inform  the 
navigator. 

The  committee  sums  up  as  follows : 

"  The  original  idea  of  these  publications  was  a  good  one;  it  is  the  manner  of  its 
execution  that  is  faulty.  It  was  fitting  that  the  laborious  analysis  of  ships'  records 


224  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

which  has  been  carried  on  at  the  Naval  Observatory  should  be  made.  It  is  greatly 
desirable  that  it  should  be  continued,  and  extended  to  every  point  of  interest  in 
meteorological  science  and  research.  It  is  desirable  that  the  collected  and  classified 
results  should  be  compared  and  studied,  and  that  abstracts  of  them  should  be 
exchanged  with  institutions  and  individuals  engaged  in  similar  investigations  else- 
where, in  our  own  or  in  other  lands.  But  it  is  by  no  means  desirable  that  the 
immense  mass  of  facts  thus  collected  should  be  embodied  in  an  indigested  or  half 
digested  state,  into  publications  designed  to  be  scattered  broadcast  over  land  and 
sea.  Out  of  their  careful  study  may  be  deducted  principles  which  may  form 
the  basis  of  instructions  to  navigators  worthy  to  be  called  '  Sailing  Directions,'  and 
such  instructions  in  any  suitable  form  may  very  fitly  be  published  by  the  govern- 
ment and  circulated  among  seamen. 

"  The  committee,  therefore,  with  entire  unanimity,  recommend  the  adoption  of 
the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this 
academy,  the  volumes  entitled  '  Sailing  Directions,'  heretofore  issued  to  navi- 
gators from  the  Naval  Observatory,  and  the  '  Wind  and  Current  Charts,'  which 
they  are  designed  to  illustrate  and  explain,  embrace  much  which  is  unsound  in 
philosophy,  and  little  that  is  practically  useful;  and  that  therefore  these  publica- 
tions ought  no  longer  to  be  issued  in  their  present  form. 

Resolved,  That  the  records  of  meteorological  phenomena  and  of  other  impor- 
tant facts  connected  with  terrestrial  physics,  which,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Navy  Department,  have  been  accumulated  at  the  Observatory,  are  capable  of 
being  turned  to  valuable  account,  and  that  it  is  eminently  desirable  that  such 
information  should  continue  to  be  collected  and  subjected  to  careful  discussion. 

Resolved,  That  the  president  of  the  academy  be  authorized  and  requested  to 
communicate  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions, 
and  of  this  report,  as  a  response  to  the  inquiry  addressed  to  the  academy  upon 
this  subject  by  that  officer.'  "  23 

Considering  the  circumstances  under  which  this  report  was 
drawn  up,  it  must  be  conceded  that  it  is  moderate  in  tone  and  not 
unappreciative  of  the  labors  of  Maury.  The  criticisms  of  the 
committee  were  directed  against  the  form  in  which  the  data 
were  published  and  the  deductions  drawn  from  them,  rather 
than  against  the  data  themselves.  As  a  result  of  the  committee's 
report,  the  publication  was  suspended.  After  the  Hydrographic 
Office  was  regularly  organized  in  1866,  however,  the  plates  from 
which  the  charts  were  made  were  turned  over  to  it,  and  in  1873 
efforts  were  renewed  to  obtain  additional  meteorological  data 

28  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863,  p.  112. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          225 

from  merchant  vessels  for  a  new  edition.  In  1884  the  hydrog- 
rapher  reported  that  sufficient  data  from  this  source  and  from  the 
naval  vessels  had  been  collected  to  form  the  basis  of  a  new  set  of 
charts  for  the  North  Pacific.24 

Commander  J.  R.  Bartlett,  the  head  of  the  Hydrographic 
Office  remarked: 

"  The  province  of  the  meteorological  division  is  to  furnish  blank  meteorological 
journals  to  the  masters  of  merchant  vessels  who  are  willing  to  post  them,  the 
masters  receiving  in  return  a  set  of  charts  covering  the  route  to  be  traversed.  The 
data  obtained  from  these  journals  and  from  the  log-books  of  ships  of  war  are  con- 
densed for  use  in  the  construction  of  new  editions  of  Maury's  Wind  and  Current 
Charts."  25 


COMMITTEE  ON  THE  QUESTION  OF  TESTS  FOR  THE 
PURITY   OF   WHISKEY.     1864 

This  committee,  appointed  to  consider  a  subject  which  within 
the  last  few  years  has  been  repeatedly  forced  on  the  attention 
of  the  Government,  was  appointed  on  January  14,  1864,  at  the 
request  of  the  Acting  Surgeon  General  of  the  Army  received  on 
the  fifth  of  that  month,  and  consisted  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  Jr. 
(chairman) ,  John  Torrey,  R.  E.  Rogers,  J.  L.  LeConte  and  J.  H. 
Alexander.  On  March  17,  the  committee  asked  for  and  obtained 
the  use  of  the  sum  of  $3,500  to  be  used  in  experimentation,  but 
later  decided  that  no  expenditure  of  money  was  necessary. 

A  brief  report  was  presented  on  January  6,  1865,  as  follows: 

"  In  the  absence  of  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  question  of  tests  for 
the  purity  of  whiskey,  the  members  who  are  present  beg  leave  to  report,  that  after 
giving  the  subject  their  earnest  consideration,  they  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
in  the  present  condition  of  chemical  science  no  tests  can  be  employed  for  deter- 
mining the  age  of  whiskey  and  other  spirituous  liquors.  The  common  adulter- 
ations are  readily  detected.  It  is  not  difficult,  however,  to  obtain  alcohol  that  is 
free  from  all  deleterious  admixture.  They  therefore  recommend,  for  use  in  the 
military  hospitals  in  the  United  States,  pure  alcohol,  medicated  with  such  additions 
as  will  qualify  it  for  the  particular  object  for  which  it  is  prescribed. 

24  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1884,  p.  59. 
*  Loc.  cit.,  p.  61. 


226  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  No  portion  of  the  appropriation  granted  by  the  Secretary  of  War  has  been 
expended  by  the  committee."  26 

This  report  appears  at  first  somewhat  enigmatic,  because  the 
inference  from  it  would  be  that  the  purity  of  whiskey  depended 
on  its  age.  In  one  sense,  however,  this  is  true  because,  as  is  well 
known,  some  of  the  poisonous  components  of  the  complex  dis- 
tillate break  up  in  the  lapse  of  time  into  less  harmful  ethers, 
esters  and  higher  alcohols.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  older 
the  whiskey,  the  less  harmful  its  ingredients,  and  in  this  sense  it 
is  purer. 

The  practice  of  prescribing  alcohol  instead  of  whiskey  as  a 
stimulant,  as  recommended  by  the  committee,  is  sometimes 
adopted  in  hospitals  and  has  the  sanction  of  physicians. 

COMMITTEE  ON   EXPERIMENTS  ON  THE  EXPANSION 
OF  STEAM.     1864 

It  is  recorded  in  the  first  Annual  of  the  Academy  that  on 
February  29,  1864,  "  the  Hon.  Gideon  Welles,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  invited  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  three  members 
of  the  Academy  to  act  jointly  with  three  members  named  by  the 
Department  and  with  three  members  of  the  Franklin  Institute 
of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  promotion  of  the  Mechanic  Arts,  to 
conduct,  witness,  and  report  upon  experiments  which  may  be 
agreed  upon  by  the  Commission  on  the  expansion  of  Steam. 
The  experiments  are  to  be  reported  as  early  as  practicable  to 
the  Department,  and  to  be  submitted  also  to  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  for  its  judgment  and  suggestions."  "  The 
investigation  was  undertaken  by  authority  of  Congress. 

The  Academy  appointed  as  its  committee  Fairman  Rogers, 
F.  A.  P.  Barnard  and  Joseph  Saxton.  The  Navy  Department 
appointees  were  Horatio  Allen,  Chas.  H.  Davis  (a  member  of 
the  Academy)  and  B.  F.  Isherwood,  and  those  of  the  Franklin 
Institute,  J.  H.  Towne,  J.  V.  Merrick,  and  R.  A.  Tilghman. 

"Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1864,  p.  5.  Only  Torrey  and  LeConte  signed  the  report.  The 
other  members  were  absent. 

"Ann.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863-64,  p.  39. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          227 

Whether  any  results  were  reached  by  this  commission  is  doubt- 
ful. A  preliminary  report  was  made  to  the  Academy  on  January 
5,  1865,  and  another  report  of  progress  on  January  26,  1866, 
but  in  1880  we  learn  that  "  owing  to  the  lack  of  appropriations 
these  investigations  have  not  yet  been  concluded."  28  In  the 
meantime  two  members  of  the  commission  had  died,  and  perhaps 
others.  In  view  of  this  circumstance  and  the  fact  that  fifteen  years 
after  the  experiments  were  begun  they  were  still  unfinished,  it  is 
improbable  that  they  were  ever  brought  to  a  conclusion.  The 
most  that  can  be  learned  is  that  the  object  in  view  was  to  deter- 
mine the  measure  of  expansion  that  would  give  the  best  results 
in  practice,  that  a  program  for  the  experiments  was  considered 
at  a  meeting  held  in  New  York  on  June  29,  1864,  at  the  Novelty 
Iron  Works,  of  which  Horatio  Allen  was  the  president,  that  the 
apparatus  proposed  by  him  was  approved  by  the  commission, 
that  after  delay  this  apparatus  was  made  ready  for  use,  and  that 
experiments  were  conducted  by  five  assistant  engineers  detailed 
by  the  Navy  Department,  one  of  whom  had  general  charge, 
while  the  other  four  kept  regular  watch  of  operations.29 

A  COMMITTEE  ON  MATERIALS  FOR  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF 

CENT  COINS.     1864 

This  committee,  which  was  misnamed  in  the  reports  of  the 
Academy,  was  appointed  on  April  11,  1864,  at  the  request  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  "  to  examine  and 
report  upon  aluminum  bronze,  and  other  materials  for  the  manu- 
facture of  cent  coins."  30  It  consisted  of  John  Torrey  (chairman) , 
Joseph  Henry,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  F.  A.  P.  Barnard  and  the  Presi- 
dent, A.  D.  Bache,  who  was  added  by  request  of  the  Treasury 
Department.  The  phrase  from  the  first  Annual  of  the  Academy, 
quoted  above,  defining  the  duties  of  the  committee,  though 
occurring  in  substantially  the  same  form  in  the  report  of  the 

28  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1864,  pp.  2  and  5-7;  also  for  1866,  p.  3,  and  for  1879,  p.  9. 

29  See  Rep.  Seer.  Navy,  1864,   pp.  xxix,  xxx,   and   1095,   1096,  House  Exec.   Doc.  no.   i, 
38th  Congress,  zd  Session;  also  Isherwood's  "Experimental  Researches  in  Steam  Engineer- 
ing," vol.  2,  1865,  p.  xxxi. 

10  Ann.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1863-64,  p.  40. 


228  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

President  of  the  Academy,  appears  not  to  be  quite  accurate.  If 
it  be  so,  it  may  indicate  that  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  and  the  Director  of  the  Mint  were  not  entirely  in 
accord  regarding  the  cent  coinage.  The  latter  in  his  report  for 
1864  remarks:  "  During  the  past  year  some  interesting  experi- 
ments were  made  with  aluminum  as  an  alloy  for  coins;  not  with 
a  view  to  displace  the  bronze  coinage,  but  to  propose  a  system 
of  tokens  for  five  and  ten  cents."  31  It  is  not  surprising  that  the 
Director  of  the  Mint  should  not  have  contemplated  a  change  in 
the  bronze  coinage  at  that  date,  as  the  Government  had  just 
adopted  bronze  one  cent  and  two  cent  pieces,  more  than 
42,000,000  of  the  former  and  about  2,000,000  of  the  latter  having 
been  coined  in  1864.  It  would  seem  that  the  idea  was  not  at  all 
to  displace  these  new  and  popular  coins,  but  rather  to  determine 
the  properties  of  aluminum  bronzes,  particularly  with  a  view 
of  employing  them  for  other  forms  of  currency.  The  experi- 
ments were  suggested  by  certain  claims  put  forward  in  France 
that  a  small  percentage  of  aluminum  added  to  silver  would 
prevent  the  latter  from  tarnishing  when  exposed  to  fumes  con- 
taining sulphur,  while  at  the  same  time  forming  an  alloy  of  con- 
siderable hardness. 

While  the  committee  had  the  subject  under  consideration  an 
article  on  aluminum  bronzes  was  published  by  Moreau,32  and  it 
was  found  that  he  had  fully  covered  all  the  points  regarding  the 
characteristics  of  those  alloys  which  the  committee  was  to  investi- 
gate. The  proceedings  were  on  this  account  confined  simply  to 
preparing  a  bar  of  aluminum  bronze,  and  having  coins  struck 
from  it  at  the  mint  in  order  to  ascertain  to  what  extent  the  alloy 
was  suitable  for  coinage.  The  bar  was  prepared  by  Joseph 
Saxton,  a  member  of  the  Academy,  and  transmitted  by  Joseph 
Henry  to  the  Director  of  the  Mint,  who  in  turn  placed  it  in  the 

11  Rep.  Dir.  of  the  Mint  in  Rep.  Seer.  Treas.  for  1864,  p.  214.  House  Exec.  Doc.  no.  3, 
38th  Congress,  2d  Session. 

"Moreau,  G.  Ueber  die  Eigenschaften  der  Aluminiumbronze.  (Aus  Armengaud's 
Genie  industriel,  December,  1863,  S.  291;  durch  das  polytechnische  Centralblatt,  1864,  S. 
312.)  Polytechnisches  Journal,  Herausgegeben  von  Dr.  Emil  Maximilian  Dingier,  vol.  171, 
1864,  PP-  434-442- 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          229 

hands  of  the  assayer,  J.  R.  Eckfeldt.  The  report  of  the  Director 
of  the  Mint,  James  Pollock,  contains  a  statement  regarding 
the  nature  of  the  experiments  which  were  made  with  this  bar, 
the  results  obtained,  and  the  conclusions  derived  therefrom.  He 
first  remarks  that  experiments  had  been  made  two  years  pre- 
viously to  determine  whether  aluminum  bronzes  could  be  used  for 
medals,  that  they  had  resulted  negatively,  and  that  then  the  use 
of  such  alloys  for  coins  had  been  suggested.  He  continues : 

"  A  further  series  of  experiments  was  therefore  undertaken  here,  at  the  desire 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  a  committee  of  scientific  gentlemen.  The 
latter  forwarded  to  the  mint  a  bar  for  this  purpose,  which,  by  assay,  was  found  to 
contain  the  proportion  of  nine  parts  copper  to  one  of  aluminum.  Their  directions 
were  closely  followed  and  the  principal  results  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows : 

"  The  aluminum  bronze,  in  the  proportion  just  stated,  is  very  rigid  under  the 
rolls,  requiring  many  annealings,  and  liable  to  crack  and  break  into  plates  of 

oblique  fracture This  hardness  gives  it  a  great  advantage  in  wear.  Coins 

of  the  cent  size  were  made  of  this  alloy,  of  legal  bronze,  and  pure  copper.  The 
three  varieties  placed  in  boxes  and  rapidly  shaken  for  a  long  time,33  treated  equally 
in  all  respects,  lost  by  attrition  in  the  following  ratio:  Assuming  the  aluminum 
bronze  as  the  standard  of  comparison,  the  legal  bronze  lost  about  three  times,  and 
the  copper  about  six  times  as  much.  This  property,  however,  is  of  no  great  conse- 
quence in  coins  of  little  value. 

"  A  point  of  much  greater  consideration  is  the  avoidance  or  mitigation  of  the 
tendency  to  change  color  and  become  foul  from  the  usual  causes,  viz.,  the  action  of 
oily  and  saline  excretions  of  the  hand ;  the  chemical  agencies  which  are  met  with  in 
market-stalls,  and  the  slops  of  drinking  saloons,  and  the  mere  exposure  to  air  and 
moisture.  If  any  metal  or  alloy  could  be  found  that  would  look  well,  and  keep 
clean  with  the  usage  to  which  our  small  coins  are  generally  subjected,  it  would  be 
deservedly  popular.  This  can  scarcely  be  expected.  A  silver  coin  can  be  deprived 
of  its  original  beauty  and  become  of  such  a  hue  as  to  have  its  genuineness  called 
into  question.  Pure  aluminum,  white  at  first,  assumes  a  bluish  tint  by  atmospheric 
action;  and  aluminum  bronze,  although  closely  resembling  gold  at  first,  was 
found,  after  being  held  in  the  sweaty  hand  for  a  few  hours,  to  have  received  an 
ugly  tarnish  which  destroyed  the  .last  argument  for  employing  it  in  currency. 

"  After  these  experiments  were  concluded  others  were  started,  in  the  hope  of 
finding  a  binary  or  ternary  alloy  which  would  answer  the  required  conditions, 
especially  as  to  ductility  and  keeping  color  for  coins  of  a  grade  a  little  above  the 
cent  and  two  cent  pieces.  After  some  progress  had  been  made,  it  became  evident, 

**This  experiment  was  suggested  by  Joseph  Henry. 


230  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

from  the  fact  that  cents  were  hoarded  to  such  an  extent  as  to  keep  them  out  of 
circulation,  that  in  the  present  state  of  the  currency  it  would  be  futile  to  attempt 
to  carry  out  the  project.  More  than  this:  we  believe  the  end  of  our  nation's 
troubles  is  nigh,  and  that  peace  will  soon  bless  our  country.  With  peace  we  may 
confidently  expect  an  influx  of  silver,  always  more  acceptable  than  any  substitute, 
which  will  supply  every  want  and  furnish  a  currency  of  '  small  coins  '  equal  to  any 
demand."  34 

Pollock's  prophecy  as  to  the  return  of  peace  and  the  return  of 
fractional  silver  currency  into  circulation  were  both  fulfilled, 
and  further  experiments  with  aluminum  alloys  became  unneces- 
sary. The  work  of  this  committee  of  the  Academy,  which  was 
indeed  limited  in  extent,  led,  therefore,  to  no  practical  results.*5 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  EXPLOSION  ON  THE  UNITED  STATES 
STEAMER   CHEN  AN  GO.     1864 

During  the  Civil  War  the  Government  ordered  the  construc- 
tion of  27  light-draft  side-wheel  steamers,  intended  for  use  as 
gun-boats.  Among  these  was  the  Chenango.  These  vessels 
were  known  as  "  double-enders,"  or  "  double-bowed,"  from  the 
circumstance  that  they  were  fitted  with  a  bow  and  rudder  at  each 
end.  The  Chenango  was  built  at  a  private  shipyard  in  New 
York.  The  boilers  were  constructed  at  the  Morgan  Iron  Works 

34  Rep.  Seer.  Treas.  for  1864,  pp.  214-215.  The  report  of  the  assayer  to  the  committee  of 
the  Academy,  which  contains  many  interesting  details,  is  given  in  full  in  the  Annual 
Report  of  the  Academy  for  1864,  PP-  8-10.  (House  Exec.  Doc.  no.  66,  s8th  Congress, 
2d  Session.) 

M  The  experiments  mentioned  above  seem  not  to  have  become  generally  known.  We  read 
in  Richard's  "Aluminum:  Its  History,  Occurrence,"  etc.,  the  following: 

"  Aluminum  has  often  been  proposed  as  a  material  for  coinage,  but  the  only  recommenda- 
tion it  ever  possessed  for  this  purpose  was  its  high  price It  is  said  that  the  United 

States  Government  made  experiments,  in  1865,  in  making  aluminum  coins,  but  that  the  results 
were  not  sufficiently  successful  to  induce  its  adoption.  What  the  difficulties  were  I  cannot  find 
out,  but  they  were — aside  from  the  uncertain  value — probably  the  fact  of  the  great  power 
required  to  stamp  the  coins,  which  is  stated  to  be  several  times  that  needed  for  silver 
unless  the  metal  is  of  exceptional  purity.  The  problem  of  hardening  it  by  adding  a  little 
silver  or  nickel  did  not  probably  stand  in  the  way  of  its  adoption.  However,  as  an  alloy 
in  ordinary  silver  coins  to  replace  copper,  aluminum  can  be  successfully  used,  since  5  per 
cent  of  aluminum  added  to  silver  makes  an  alloy  as  durable  as  ordinary  silver  coin  with 
10  per  cent  of  copper,  without  giving  it  the  yellow  color  of  coin  silver." 

Aluminum:  Its  History,  Occurrence,  Properties,  Metallurgy  and  Applications,  including 
its  Alloys.  By  Joseph  W.  Richards,  M.  A.,  A.  C.  2d  ed.  8°.  Philadelphia,  1890,  p.  370. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          231 

and  were  of  a  kind  known  as  the  Martin  boiler,  which  had  verti- 
cal tubes.  A  large  number  of  vessels  in  the  Navy  were  fitted 
with  boilers  of  this  type,  while  others  had  boilers  with  horizontal 
tubes,  opinion  being  divided  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  the 
two  forms. 

The  Chenango  was  delivered  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard 
early  in  1864  and  placed  in  command  of  Lieutenant  Fillebrown. 
On  the  afternoon  of  April  15  the  vessel  left  the  Navy  Yard  for 
Sandy  Hook  to  join  the  Onondaga  for  blockade  service.  She 
steamed  slowly  past  Governor's  Island  and  entered  the  Narrows, 
when  one  of  her  boilers  exploded,  scalding  thirty-two  of  the 
crew  of  whom  twenty-eight  died.86 

This  terrible  accident  "  appalled  the  whole  country,"  and  an 
inquest  was  immediately  held  in  New  York  to  ascertain  if  pos- 
sible the  circumstances  under  which  it  occurred.  A  very  large 
number  of  witnesses  were  examined,  and  the  testimony  given 
occupies  141  printed  pages.37  The  jury  was  unable  to  agree  and 
two  verdicts  were  rendered,  the  majority  holding  that  the  ac- 
cident resulted  from  "  the  bursting  of  one  of  the  boilers,  which 
was  caused  by  a  greater  tension  exerted  on  the  boiler  than  it 
could  bear,  the  result  of  the  unproper  bracing,"  while  the 
minority  asserted  that  the  boiler  "  exploded  from  low  water  and 
superheated  steam." 

The  specifications  for  the  boilers  were  prepared  by  the  Navy 
Department,  while  the  boilers  themselves,  as  already  men- 
tioned, were  built  at  private  iron  works  in  New  York.  It  is 
probable  that  the  majority  verdict  was  unacceptable  to  the  Navy 
Department  because  it  could  be  interpreted  as  implying  that 
the  specifications  were  faulty.  Doubtless  on  this  account  the 
Department,  on  April  30,  1864,  through  its  Assistant  Secretary, 
authorized  the  President  of  the  Academy  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  make  an  independent  investigation  of  the  cause  of  the 
accident.  He  appointed  J.  F.  Frazer,  Fairman  Rogers  and 

3SSee  the  New  York  Herald  for  April  16  and  17,  1864. 

37  See  "  The  Boiler  Explosion  of  the  Martin  boiler  on  board  the  U.  S.  '  Double-ender  ' 
Chenango.  The  Coroner's  Inquest.  A  full  report  of  the  testimony,  the  charge  of  Dr.  Morris 
to  the  jury  and  the  verdicts."  New  York,  1864.  8°. 


232  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

L.  M.  Rutherfurd  on  May  2,  1864,  as  the  committee.  The  com- 
mittee visited  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  and  made  a  painstaking 
examination  of  the  boilers,  "  one  of  the  committee  having  entered 
the  boilers  and  made  a  minute  and  thorough  examination  of 
their  internal  condition."  The  detailed  report  submitted  on 
August  5,  1864,  contains  the  following  conclusion;  "The  com- 
mittee are  unanimously  of  opinion  that  the  rupture  of  the  shell 
of  the  boiler  of  the  Chenango  was  caused  by  the  insufficiency 
of  the  vertical  stays,  by  which  the  top  of  the  boiler  was  fastened 
to  the  tube-boxes  to  withstand  the  pressure  for  which  the  boiler 
was  intended,  and  that  these  stays  were  both  deficient  in  number 
and  injudiciously  arranged,"  and  again  "  the  committee  are  of 
opinion  that  the  boiler  was  not  braced  in  accordance  with  the 
specifications,  and  that  this  difference  was  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
aster." This  report  clearly  throws  the  main  responsibility  for 
the  accident  on  the  private  constructors  rather  than  on  the 
engineers  of  the  Navy  Department,  though  it  would  seem  that 
the  Government  inspectors  were  not  entirely  absolved  thereby. 
As  a  slight  concession  to  the  makers  of  the  boilers,  the  committee 
in  closing  points  out  a  certain  fault  in  the  specifications  which 
they  had  corrected. 

COMMITTEE  ON  GALVANIC  ACTION  FROM  ASSOCIATION  OF 
ZINC  AND   IRON.     1867 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  and  for  some  years  afterwards 
the  headstones  which  marked  the  graves  of  soldiers  in  the 
national  military  cemeteries  consisted  for  the  most  part  of 
wooden  blocks,  painted  white,  with  the  names  of  the  soldiers,  the 
numbers  of  the  regiments  to  which  they  belonged,  and  other 
data  in  black  lettering.  It  was  felt  both  by  the  Government  and 
by  the  general  public  that  these  perishable  marks  should  be  re- 
placed by  others  of  an  enduring  character  before  the  records 
which  they  bore  should  become  obliterated. 

It  was  determined  by  the  War  Department,  probably  on 
the  recommendation  of  General  Meigs,  Quartermaster-General, 

**Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1864,  p.  13. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          233 

that  the  permanent  marks  should  take  the  form  of  cast-iron 
blocks  coated  with  zinc.  It  was  suggested  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  however,  that  these  blocks  might  be  injured  or  destroyed  as 
a  result  of  galvanic  action  between  the  two  metals.  He,  there- 
fore, requested  through  the  Acting  Quartermaster-General  that 
a  committee  of  the  Academy  be  appointed  to  advise  him  as  to 
the  probability  of  such  action  in  the  metal  headstones. 
The  letter  was  as  follows : 39 

"  QUARTERMASTER  GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

"  Washington,  D.  C.,  January  8,  1867. 

"  SIR:  It  having  been  suggested  to  the  War  Department  that  the  coating  with 
zinc  of  the  iron  head-blocks,  with  which  it  is  proposed  to  mark  soldiers'  graves, 
will  produce  galvanic  action  that  will  tend  to  a  destruction  of  the  iron  blocks,  the 
Secretary  of  War  has  directed  me  to  submit  the  subject  to  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  here,  with  a  view  to  obtain  an  intelligent  opinion  on  it,  and  to  ascertain 
if  there  be  any  good  ground  for  the  apprehension. 

"  In  obedience  to  this  direction,  I  respectfully  submit  the  subject  to  you  with  a 
request  that  you  will  present  it  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  and  advise  me  of  their 
opinion  thereon,  that  I  may  make  report  thereof  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 
"  I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  D.  H.  RUCKER, 
"  Acting  Quartermaster  General,  Brevet  Major  General. 

"  The  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES,  Washington,  D.  C" 

A  committee  consisting  of  Joseph  Henry,  J.  H.  C.  Coffin  and 
Joseph  Saxton  was  appointed  by  the  President  on  the  same  day. 
It  reported  on  January  17,  as  follows: 

"  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES, 

"  Washington,  January  17,  1867. 

"  SIR:  In  compliance  with  your  request,  the  undersigned,  a  committee  of  the 
National  Academy,  appointed  to  examine  the  proposed  cast-iron  head-blocks  for 
soldiers'  graves,  and  state  whether,  in  their  opinion,  the  coating  of  zinc  will  tend 
to  produce  a  galvanic  action  destructive  to  the  iron,  respectfully  report  as  follows : 

"  The  head-block  submitted  to  the  committee  is  a  hollow  truncated  pyramid 
of  cast  iron,  on  one  side  of  which,  in  raised  figures,  is  the  No.  12,646,  and  on 
the  top,  also  in  raised  letters,  the  name  of  a  soldier,  his  regiment,  and  a  date, 
probably  that  of  his  death.  This  block  is  entirely  covered  inside  and  out  with 

119  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  p.  17.    Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  44,  4oth  Congress,  ist  Session. 


234  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

a  coating  of  zinc,  of  greater  thickness  on  the  surface  containing  the  letters  and 
figures. 

"  From  well-established  principles  of  galvanism,  and  from  the  direct  experi- 
ments of  the  committee,  it  is  certain  that  while  the  zinc  coating  covers  every  part 
of  the  surface  of  the  iron,  no  other  galvanic  action  will  take  place  than  that 
exhibited  in  the  ordinary  corroding  of  a  single  metal,  but  that  as  soon  as  the 
smallest  portion  of  the  iron  is  exposed  to  the  liquid  precipitation  from  the  atmos- 
phere, a  galvanic  current  will  be  established  passing  through  the  liquid  from  the 
zinc  to  the  iron,  that  the  former  will  be  more  rapidly  corroded  than  it  was 
previous  to  the  exposure  of  the  iron,  and  that  this  action  will  go  on  until  all  the 
zinc  is  dissolved.  The  iron,  during  the  process,  will  be  protected  from  the  action 
of  the  atmosphere  at  the  expense  of  the  zinc.  After  all  the  zinc  has  been  dis- 
solved, the  iron,  being  unprotected,  will  then  be  corroded  in  the  usual  manner. 

"  From  this  statement  it  is  evident  that  the  coating  of  zinc  will  tend  to  prolong 
the  existence  of  the  iron  in  its  metallic  state,  though  it  will  not  afford  a  perpetual 
protection  such  as  may  be  given  by  a  coating  of  enamel  like  that  used  in  covering 
the  basins  of  iron  sinks,  kettles,  etc. 

"  The  experiment  made  by  the  committee  consisted  in  attaching  to  one  end  of 
the  wire  of  a  galvanometer  a  plate  of  zinc  and  to  the  other  end  a  plate  of  iron. 
These  two  plunged  in  a  vessel  of  water  slightly  acidulated  by  sulphuric  acid,  gave 
rise  to  a  powerful  current  of  galvanism  from  the  zinc  to  the  iron.  While  the 
zinc  was  rapidly  corroded  the  iron  remained  unaffected.  By  substituting  for  the 
zinc  a  plate  of  copper,  a  still  more  powerful  current  was  produced  in  the  opposite 
direction.  The  iron  in  this  case  was  violently  acted  upon,  while  the  copper 
retained  its  brightness. 

"  The  committee  may  state,  as  a  general  rule,  that  when  two  different  metals 
are  placed  in  metallic  contact,  the  one  most  readily  acted  on  by  an  acid  will  be 
dissolved,  while  the  other  will  be  protected,  and  that  the  action  on  the  metal  dis- 
solved will  be  increased  in  intensity  by  the  association.  Thus,  iron  in  association 
with  zinc  is  protected,  while  the  same  metal  in  connection  with  copper  is  more 
rapidly  corroded  than  it  is  without  such  connection. 

"  Respectfully  submitted, 

"  JOSEPH  HENRY, 
"  J.  H.  C.  COFFIN, 
"  JOSEPH  SAXTON. 
"  GENERAL  D.  H.  RUCKER,  U.  S.  A., 

"  Acting  Quartermaster  General." 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  report  refers  exclusively  to  the 
metals  composing  the  headstones  and  that  the  opinion  expressed 
was  that  iron  blocks  would  not  endure  perpetually.  While  the 
report  was  pending,  a  discussion  of  another  character  regarding 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          235 

these  headstones  took  place  in  the  Senate.  The  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives had  passed  a  bill  (House  Res.  no.  788)  for  the  mark- 
ing of  soldiers'  graves  in  the  National  Cemeteries,  and  this  bill 
was  reported  from  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  to  the 
Senate  on  January  18,  1867.  It  was  in  charge  of  Senator  Wilson 
of  Massachusetts,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  introduced  the 
bill  for  the  incorporation  of  the  Academy  in  1863.  The  follow- 
ing discussion  ensued: 

"  NATIONAL  CEMETERIES. 
"(Senate,  January  18,  1867.) 

"  MR.  WILSON.  I  am  directed  by  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  and 
the  Militia  to  report  back  without  amendment  the  bill  (H.  R.  No.  788)  to 
establish  and  protect  national  cemeteries;  and  I  ask  for  its  present  consideration. 

"  By  unanimous  consent,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  pro- 
ceeded to  consider  the  bill 

"  The  second  section  provides  that  each  grave  shall  be  marked  with  a  small 
marble  or  cast-iron  headstone,  with  the  number  of  the  grave  thereon  corresponding 
with  the  number  opposite  to  the  name  of  the  party  inscribed  on  the  monu- 
ment  

"  MR.  WADE.  I  have  seen  some  of  these  iron  monuments  provided  for  by 
this  bill,  and  I  think  it  is  not  creditable  to  the  country  to  have  such  monuments 
over  the  graves  of  our  soldiers.  They  are  small  cast-iron  slabs,  not  more,  perhaps, 
than  eighteen  inches  high. 

"  MR.  RAMSAY.     Not  over  twelve  inches. 

"  MR.  WADE.  Perhaps  that  is  it;  I  did  not  measure  them.  They  look  more 
like  a  tin  kettle  than  anything  else,  and  are  liable  to  be  kicked  off  and  kicked 
about  and  changed  from  one  grave  to  another  by  any  mischievous  person.  I  think 
the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  cannot  have  seen  a  specimen  of  them.  They 
seem  to  me  to  be  totally  inadequate  for  the  purpose  contemplated,  and  it  is  dis- 
creditable to  the  country  to  erect  such  things  as  monuments  for  its  soldiers. 

"  MR.  CONNESS.    A  kind  of  solemn  toy ! 

"  MR.  WADE.  Yes,  a  solemn  toy,  or  whatever  you  please.  It  is  a  burlesque 
rather  than  a  monument.  If  we  cannot  do  any  better  than  that,  I  would  much 
rather  that  nothing  should  be  done.  I  think  it  is  discreditable  to  us,  and  must 
be  a  means  of  wounding  the  feelings  of  the  relations  of  the  soldiers  who  may 
have  occasion  to  visit  the  cemeteries  where  their  remains  are  deposited. 

"  I  hope  the  bill  will  not  pass  in  this  form.  I  think  it  had  better  lie  over,  and 
let  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  inspect  these  monuments  and  see  if  some 
better  model  cannot  be  adopted.  I  was  assured  by  persons  in  charge  of  some  of 


236  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

the  cemeteries  that  they  were  entirely  opposed  to  the  adoption  of  any  such  plan  or 
style  of  monument,  and  I  agree  with  them  most  heartily.  I  think  if  the  Military 
Committee  will  look  into  the  subject  they  will  come  to  the  same  conclusion  that  I 
have  arrived  at.  There  are  other  gentlemen  here  who  inspected  some  of  these 
cemeteries  at  the  same  time  that  I  did,  and  who  as  I  understand  came  to  the  same 
conclusion. 

"  MR.  WILSON.  By  existing  law  the  War  Department  was  authorized  to 
prepare  these  monuments,  and  I  am  told  they  have  agreed  upon  this  plan.  I  have 
no  particular  reason  for  pressing  this  bill  now  if  the  Senate  does  not  wish  to  act 
upon  it  at  present.  I  am  willing  to  take  time  to  make  further  inquiries.  The 
main  feature  of  the  bill,  however,  and  the  great  object  is  to  get  possession  of  the 
land  necessary  for  the  sites  of  these  cemeteries. 

"  MR.  RAMSAY.  I  think  if  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs  would  inquire  of  the  Quartermaster's  Department  in  this  city  he  would 
find  a  large  number  of  protests  there  from  all  those  who  have  charge  of  these 
national  cemeteries  in  the  South  against  the  adoption  of  this  plan,  which  seems  to 
have  met  the  approbation  of  the  Department,  of  iron  tombstones,  so  called.  They 
almost  universally  object,  and  there  are  many  representations  on  file  upon  the 
subject.  I  think  the  committee  should  take  some  steps  immediately  to  check  the 
further  execution  of  the  contract  if  it  has  already  been  entered  into.  It  is 
unquestionably  wrong. 

"  MR.  WILSON.  I  have  no  objection  to  the  bill  lying  over,  and  I  shall  call 
it  up  after  I  have  made  the  necessary  inquiries. 

"  The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.     Does  the  Senator  make  that  motion? 

"  MR.  WILSON.     I  do. 

"  The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  It  is  moved  that  the  further  consideration 
of  this  bill  be  postponed. 

"  The  motion  was  agreed  to."  40 

On  February  9,  1867,  the  bill  was  recommitted  to  the  same 
committee  and  was  reported  back  on  February  13,  1867. 

On  February  14,  1867,  it  was  taken  up  for  discussion  and  the 
ist  and  ad  sections  amended  and  consolidated  so  as  to  direct 
the  Secretary  of  War  merely  "  to  cause  each  grave  to  be  marked 
with  a  small  headstone,  or  block,  with  the  number  of  the  grave 
inscribed  thereon,"  etc.,  without  specifying  the  material.  The 
bill  was  then  passed." 

*°  Congressional  Globe,  January  18,  1867,  pp.  539,  540. 
"Op.  cit.,  pp.  m8,  1308. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          237 

The  Secretary  of  War  had,  in  the  meantime,  received  the 
report  of  the  Academy,  which  he  acknowledged  in  the  following 
letter:42 

"  WAR  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C, 

"January  23,  1867. 
"  PROF.  HENRY,  ETC.,  ETC. 

"  DEAR  SIR:  The  report  made  at  my  request  by  the  National  Academy,  rela- 
tive to  the  subject  of  galvanic  action  on  the  iron  head-blocks  proposed  for  marking 
soldiers'  graves,  has  been  submitted  to  this  department,  and  I  offer  my  thanks  to 
the  Committee  for  the  valuable  information  it  contains.  I  beg  now  to  refer  the 
case  back  again  for  report  whether  there  is  anything  known  to  the  Academy  of  a 
nature  which  would  be  more  suitable  on  account  of  its  durability,  and  at  the  same 
time  not  so  expensive  as  to  forbid  its  use  for  the  purpose,  than  the  combination  of 
materials  already  submitted  to  your  Committee  for  their  opinion ;  and  would  be 
glad  to  have  an  opinion  as  to  the  fitness  of  these  materials  for  the  purpose 
designated. 

"  Very  respectfully,  dear  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  EDWIN  M.  STANTON, 

"  Secretary  of  War." 

There  is  no  evidence  in  the  records  of  the  Academy  that 
this  second  request  was  complied  with,  though  in  view  of  sub- 
sequent proceedings  it  is  not  unlikely  that  it  was. 

As  indicated  by  the  discussion  in  Congress,  opinion  in  the 
War  Department  was  divided  on  the  subject  of  the  headstones, 
some  officials  favoring  the  iron  blocks  and  others  regarding  them 
as  unsuitable.  Quartermaster-General  Meigs  was  absent  from 
duty  on  account  of  illness  during  the  year  1867  and  a  part  of 
1868  also,  and  on  December  19,  1867,  the  acting  officer,  General 
Rucker,  made  a  number  of  recommendations  to  the  Secretary  of 
War  relative  to  the  National  Cemeteries,  among  which  was  the 
following: 

"  That  proposals  be  speedily  invited  by  the  Quartermaster-General  for  cast- 
iron  (zinked)  head-blocks  of  the  pattern  enclosed,  in  quantities  sufficient  to  mark 
all  the  graves  not  now  supplied  with  proper  wooden  head-boards;  and  that  the 
contract  for  them  be  let,  and  the  blocks  erected  without  delay  (provided  it  shall 
be  deemed  too  expensive  to  erect  stone  blocks,  after  definitely  ascertaining  the  true 
cost  of  the  same).  "  43 

42Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  61,  62. 

43  Rep.  Seer.  War  for  1868,  vol.  3,  part  i,  p.  908.  Exec.  Doc.  no.  i,  4001  Congress,  sd 
Session. 

17 


238  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

The  paper  was  returned  on  January  3,  1868,  with  the  follow- 
ing endorsement:  "  Erect  the  fences  and  lodges,  but  do  nothing 
about  the  headstones.  By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 
(Signed)  Ed.  Schriver,  Inspector  General."  44 

Later,  when  General  Meigs  returned  to  duty,  he  submitted  a 
report,  dated  October  20,  1868,  in  which  he  remarked: 

"  ON  HEADSTONES  IN  NATIONAL  CEMETERIES. 

"  No  progress  has  been  made  in  erecting,  as  required  by  law,  permanent  blocks 
at  each  grave. 

"  I  am  still  of  the  opinion  that  the  best  monument  for  this  purpose  yet  con- 
trived is  the  small  rectangular  block  of  cast  iron,  galvanized  to  protect  it  from 
rust,  and  rilled  with  earth  or  cement. 

"  This  planted  at  the  grave  will  last  for  many  years.  It  is  not  costly,  is  easily 
transported,  and  not  an  object  of  plunder. 

"  With  the  wages  of  stone-cutters  at  $5  a  day,  the  cost  of  320,000  headstones 
properly  lettered  would  be  a  very  great  charge  upon  the  treasury. 

"  The  wooden  head-boards  are  now  rapidly  decaying,  and  to  replace  them  is 
expensive. 

"  For  the  action  of  the  department  in  this  matter  I  refer  to  the  detailed 
report  of  Colonel  [C.  W.]  Folsom  herewith."  45 

No  further  action  appears  to  have  been  taken  in  the  matter 
until  1872,  when  Congress  amended  the  Act  of  1867,  so  that  the 
Secretary  of  War  was  directed  merely  to  "  cause  each  grave  to 
be  marked  by  a  small  headstone,  with  the  name  of  the  soldier 
and  the  name  of  the  State  inscribed  thereon."  46  The  question  of 
material,  which  is  here  omitted,  as  it  was  from  the  Act  of  1867, 
was  finally  settled  the  following  year,  when  Congress  directed 
that,  "  the  headstones  ....  shall  be  of  durable  stone,  and  of 
such  design  and  weight  as  shall  keep  them  in  place  when  set,  .... 
and  the  Secretary  of  War  shall  first  determine  for  the  various 
cemeteries  the  size  and  model  for  such  headstones,  and  the 
standards  of  quality  and  color  of  the  stone  to  be  used."  4T 

44  Loc.  cit. 

"Rep.  Gen.  M.  C.  Meigs,  Quartermaster  General,  in  Rep.  Seer.  War  for  1868,  p.  818. 
Colonel  Folsom's  report  occurs  in  the  same  document,  pp.  894-916. 

*"  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  17,  1873,  p.  345,  42d  Congress,  zd  Session,  chap.  368.  Act  approved 
June  8,  1872. 

47  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  17,  1873,  pp.  545,  546,  42d  Congress,  3d  Session,  chap.  229.  Act 
approved  March  3,  1873. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          239 

Thus,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  six  years  the  Government 
was  committed  to  a  course  of  action  which  was  in  harmony  with 
the  advice  of  the  Academy,  though  it  is  probable  that  esthetic 
and  sentimental  considerations  had  more  weight  than  that  of 
permanence. 

COMMITTEE  ON  PROVING  AND  GAUGING  DISTILLED 
SPIRITS  AND   PREVENTING  FRAUD.     1866 

In  the  early  history  of  the  United  States  excises  or  internal 
revenue  taxes  were  extremely  unpopular  on  account  of  their 
association  in  the  minds  of  the  people  with  the  despotism  and 
extortions  of  colonial  times.  Nevertheless,  the  Government 
found  it  necessary  to  lay  such  a  tax  in  1791,  which  led  to  resist- 
ance and  the  well-known  Whiskey  Insurrection  of  1794.  In 
Jefferson's  administration  all  internal  revenue  taxes  were  abol- 
ished, but  it  was  found  necessary  to  revive  them  again  in 
connection  with  the  War  of  1812.  After  that  war  they  were 
once  more  discarded  and  no  excises  were  collected  subsequently 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  The  enormous  demands 
then  made  on  the  treasury  necessitated  the  establishment  of  a 
vast  series  of  internal  revenue  taxes,  which  were  levied  on 
property  and  activities  of  every  description,  Nothing  was  too 
great  or  too  small  to  be  pressed  into  service  and  the  revenue 
collected  in  this  way  in  the  year  1866  amounted  to  more  than 
$300,000,000. 

Among  the  articles  subjected  to  taxation  at  this  time  were 
distilled  spirits  manufactured  in  the  United  States.  At  an 
earlier  date  only  imported  spirits  were  taxed  and  a  simple  system 
of  inspection  sufficed,  but  the  collection  of  a  high  internal 
revenue  tax  on  all  domestic  spirits  necessitated  much  greater 
vigilance,  a  better  form  of  proving  instruments  and  a  more 
elaborate  system  of  inspection.  By  a  singular  coincidence  the 
system  of  inspection  employed  for  fifteen  years  prior  to  the  Civil 
War  was  based  on  the  recommendations  of  Professor  Alexander 
Dallas  Bache,  the  first  President  of  the  Academy.  This  system 
had  now  to  be  modified  to  adapt  it  to  the  new  conditions. 


240  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

On  February  15,  1866,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Hugh 
McCulloch  addressed  a  letter  to  Joseph  Henry,  then  acting 
President  of  the  Academy,  requesting  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  to  report  to  the  department  on  the  best  method  of 
proving  and  gauging  alcoholic  liquors,  with  a  view  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  such  rules  and  regulations  as  would  insure  a  uniform 
system  of  inspection  of  spirits  subject  to  duties.48  Professor 
Henry  accordingly  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  the  sub- 
ject, assuming  the  chairmanship  himself  and  designating  as  his 
associates  J.  E.  Hilgard  and  M.  C.  Meigs.  At  the  same  time, 
F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  John  Torrey  and  B.  F.  Craig  were  requested 
to  prepare  tables  of  standard  mixtures  of  alcohol  and  water.  Dr. 
Craig  was  not  a  member  of  the  Academy. 

The  chief  difficulty  regarding  the  system  recommended  by 
Professor  Bache  in  1848  was  that  the  Tralles  hydrometer,  which 
was  the  one  then  proposed,  gave  percentage  in  alcohol,  instead 
of  percentages  in  "  proof  spirit,"  or  a  mixture  of  50  per  cent 
alcohol  and  50  per  cent  water,  upon  which  all  commercial 
negotiations  were  based.  While  the  former  could  readily  be  con- 
verted into  the  latter  in  most  cases,  it  would  lighten  the  labors 
of  the  inspectors  if  their  hydrometers  gave  readings  in  proof 
spirits.  Tralles'  hydrometer,  furthermore,  was  not  adapted  for 
quick  observations  within  one  per  cent,  which  it  was  necessary 
should  be  recorded,  on  account  of  high  duty;  or  for  gauging 
large  quantities  of  spirits  out-of-doors  in  inclement  weather,  or 
under  other  unfavorable  circumstances.  It  was  also  found  that 
the  tables  used  by  the  Treasury  Department  were  not  entirely 
correct. 

In  view  of  these  circumstances,  the  committee  set  itself  the 
laborious  task  of  finding  a  more  convenient  hydrometer,  and  of 
preparing  new  tables.  Its  report  was  submitted  on  July  21,  1866. 
The  recommendations  were  that  following  the  custom  of  the 
trade,  the  strength  of  distilled  spirits  should  be  estimated  accord- 
ing to  their  equivalent  in  proof  spirits,  and  be  expressed  in 
terms  of  percentage  of  proof  spirits  rather  than  by  the  use  of  the 

48  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  p.  18. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          241 

terms  "  above  proof  "  and  "  below  proof  ";  that  a  special  form 
of  hydrometer  designed  by  Wm.  G.  Tagliabue  of  New  York, 
be  used  instead  of  the  ordinary  Tralles  instrument,  and  that 
the  Government  should  test  these  hydrometers  and  issue  them  to 
the  inspectors  free  of  expense.  The  hydrometers,  which  were 
figured  in  the  report  of  the  committee,  were  to  be  made  in  series 
of  five  each,  so  graduated  as  to  cover  all  percentages  from  pure 
alcohol  to  pure  water.  The  tables  which  accompanied  the  report 
cover  25  pages.  They  give  real  and  apparent  specific  gravities 
and  percentages  for  all  mixtures  of  alcohol  and  water  at  different 
temperatures  from  zero  to  100°  Fahrenheit,  together  with  other 
data  of  similar  character.  In  addition,  the  report  has  appended 
to  it  a  "  Manual  for  inspectors  of  spirits,"  consisting  of  tables 
showing  the  true  percentage  of  proof  spirits  for  and  indication 
of  the  hydrometer  at  temperature  between  o°  and  100°  F.,  and 
instructions  for  their  use.  This  part  of  the  report  covers  thirty- 
four  pages. 

The  committee  was  not  content  to  restrict  its  tables  to  the 
temperature  limits  of  the  earlier  ones,  but  carried  on  an  elaborate 
series  of  experiments  to  ascertain  the  proper  readings  of  hydrom- 
eters at  temperatures  as  low  as  zero  Fahrenheit.  This  was  neces- 
sitated by  the  fact  that  spirits  were  sometimes  received  at  ware- 
houses in  the  Northern  States  in  winter  time  at  temperatures  far 
below  freezing  and  often  approaching  the  zero  of  the  Fahrenheit 
scale.  These  experiments  were  carried  on,  by  request  of  the 
Treasury  Department,  at  the  laboratory  of  the  Surgeon-Gen- 
eral's Office,  and  were  conducted  by  Dr.  B.  F.  Craig. 

The  committee  also  considered  various  forms  of  hydrometers 
and  decided  to  recommend  one  which,  in  its  opinion,  was  best 
adapted  for  the  revenue  service.  Dr.  John  Torrey  and  Dr. 
F.  A.  P.  Barnard  made  especially  accurate  mixtures  of  water 
and  alcohol  and  prepared  and  marked  a  series  of  delicate  floats 
which  were  afterwards  used  by  Tagliabue  in  graduating  the 
hydrometers  which  he  manufactured  for  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment. 


242  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

The  whole  report,  covering  39  printed  pages,  was,  as  already 
mentioned,  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  July 
21,  1866.  In  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Academy  for  1866 
Joseph  Henry  said  regarding  the  work  of  the  committee: 

"  .  .  .  .  The  duty  devolved  upon  the  members  of  the  committee  was  one  of  much 
labor  and  responsibility.  The  tables  accompanying  the  report  are  of  much  value, 
and  will  be  referred  to  by  all  persons  engaged  in  pursuits  requiring  a  knowledge 
of  specific  gravity  and  volume,  at  various  temperatures,  of  alcoholic  spirits  of 
different  strength;  they  are  not  only  indispensable  to  the  distiller,  rectifier  and 
gauger  of  spirits,  but  will  prove  extremely  useful  in  the  laboratory  of  the  chemist, 
and  in  many  processes  of  manufacture  involving  the  use  of  alcohol."  49 

At  an  earlier  date,  however,  on  April  19,  1866,  the  committee 
recommended  to  the  Treasury  Department  the  adoption  of  a 
definition  of  "  proof  spirit,"  and  this  definition  was  incorporated 
in  the  internal  revenue  law,50  together  with  the  provision  that 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  should  procure  suitable  hydrom- 
eters and  other  instruments.  At  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal  year 
1866-67,  therefore,  the  Treasury  Department  was  in  possession 
of  the  information  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  a  new 
system  of  proving  and  gauging  spirits  and  the  authority  for 
carrying  it  into  effect.  In  his  report  for  1867  the  Commissioner 
of  Internal  Revenue  remarks  on  this  subject  as  follows : 

"  For  several  years  there  had  been  frequent  complaints  of  a  lack  of  uniformity  in 
the  inspection  of  distilled  spirits  in  different  sections  of  the  country.  The  accounts 
of  revenue  officers  were  disturbed,  and  the  interest  of  shippers  prejudiced  by  diffi- 
culty in  procuring  their  proper  allowance  for  leakage.  The  Treasury,  too,  was  fre- 
quently, it  is  presumed,  unfavorably  affected  by  an  excess  of  such  allowance.  To 
secure,  therefore,  a  uniform  and  correct  system  of  inspection  and  gauging  of  spirits 
subject  to  tax  throughout  the  United  States,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  Feb- 
ruary last,  adopted  the  hydrometer  of  Mr.  Tagliabue,  of  New  York.  This  hydrom- 
eter was  approved  by  a  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  consisting 
of  Professor  Henry,  General  Meigs,  and  Professor  Hilgard,  and  has  been  fur- 
nished, with  an  accompanying  manual  prepared  and  printed  for  that  purpose,  to 
collectors  of  the  Internal  Revenue  for  the  use  of  duly  appointed  inspectors  in 
their  several  districts.  The  caliper  and  head-rod  system  of  gauging  has  been 

49  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  p.  3. 

"See  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  14,  1868,  p.  157,  39th  Congress,  ist  Session,  chap.  184,  sec.  33, 
and  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  p.  21. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          243 

adopted  likewise,  and  a  manual  of  instructions  in  their  use  furnished  revenue 
officers.  The  hydrometers  are  furnished  by  the  manufacturer  in  sets  of  five,  at  a 
charge  of  eighteen  dollars  per  set,  and  in  sets  of  three  at  thirteen  dollars.  Seven 
hundred  and  thirty-four  sets  have  been  received  from  the  manufacturer  at  a  cost  of 
$11,826.50,  and  about  five  hundred  sets  have  been  distributed  to  officers. 
Inspectors  supply  themselves  at  their  own  charge  with  the  necessary  gauging 
instruments."  51 

Thus  the  work  of  the  committee  relative  to  the  proving  and 
gauging  of  spirits  was  completed,  but  the  question  of  the  preven- 
tion of  fraud  still  remained  for  consideration. 

There  was  a  widespread  belief  at  the  time,  based  on  the 
strongest  evidence,  that  the  Government  was  being  deprived  of 
a  vast  amount  of  its  revenue  through  frauds  practiced  on  an 
enormous  scale,  either  by  the  distillers  separately  or  in  collusion 
with  the  inspectors,  and  many  thought  that  these  could  be  stopped 
by  making  the  capacity  of  the  distilleries  the  basis  of  the  tax. 
The  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue,  E.  A.  Rollins,  was  con- 
vinced that  this  idea  was  erroneous,  but  he  was  of  the  opinion 
that  measurement  of  the  output  by  means  of  meters  attached 
to  the  stills  would  aid  the  inspectors  in  detecting  gross  misstate- 
ments  of  the  amount  of  spirits  manufactured,  besides  having 
incidental  advantages.  He  remarks  in  his  report  for  1867  re- 
garding the  law  as  follows : 

"  It  does  not  undertake  to  levy  the  tax  in  accordance  with  any  real  or  estimated 
capacity,  for  this  has  always  been  regarded  as  impracticable;  but  it  does  endeavor 
to  give  to  revenue  officers  information  from  which  the  possible  product  may  be 
approximately  estimated,  so  that  fraud  may  well  be  presumed  if  the  product 

returned  is  unreasonably  small Could  the  production  of  distilleries  be 

ascertained  for  the  purpose  of  taxation  by  some  mechanical  means,  and  were  it 
impracticable  for  distillers  to  deceive  officers  or  to  collude  with  them,  it  is  evident 
that  much  of  the  cost  of  supervision  would  be  avoided,  while  efforts  to  discover 
illicit  spirits  after  they  have  left  their  place  of  production  would  no  longer  tend  to 
embarrass  and  discourage  honest  dealers.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  the  Depart- 
ment was  persuaded  nearly  two  years  ago  to  invite  the  co-operation  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  and  a  committee  of  the  Academy,  consisting  of  Professors 
Joseph  Henry  and  J.  E.  Hilgard,  gentlemen  of  eminent  ability  and  wide  reputa- 
tion, has  given  the  subject  the  full  consideration  which  its  importance  deserves."  62 

81  Rep.  Comm.  of  Int.  Rev.  for  1868,  p.  xxxiii. 

62  Rep.  Comm.  Int.  Rev.  for  1867,  pp.  xxvii,  xxviii. 


244  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

The  committee,  on  its  part,  believed  that  an  instrument  could 
be  devised  that  would  measure  the  output  of  the  stills.  In  its 
report  of  July  21,  1866,  the  committee  remarks: 

"  The  committee  confidently  believe  that  a  spirit  meter  can  be  constructed 
which  will  register  the  quantity  of  spirits  passing  from  a  still,  and  afford  a 
reliable  check  on  the  distiller  and  inspector. 

"  They  recommend  that  an  instrument  based  upon  the  principle  of  Worthing- 
ton's  water-meter  be  constructed  and  submitted  to  trial. 

"  Of  various  inventions  submitted  for  measuring  and  registering  the  quantity 
of  spirits  passing  from  a  still,  the  only  one  which  has  commended  itself  for  sim- 
plicity and  certainty  of  action,  is  that  of  Cox  &  Murphy,  of  Montreal,  which 
the  committee  likewise  recommend  to  be  submitted  to  actual  trial  in  a  distillery, 
for  several  months,  under  the  supervision  of  an  officer  of  the  revenue."  53 

And  in  the  report  for  1867: 

"  The  desire  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Department  to  possess  a  reliable  spirit- 
meter  having  become  generally  known  through  its  officers  and  agents,  a  large 
number  of  inventions  were  brought  forward,  from  time  to  time,  between  June, 
1866,  and  January,  1868,  and  referred  to  this  committee.  The  examination  of 
the  various  plans  and  models,  and  the  correspondence  incident  thereto,  involved 
the  expenditure  of  much  time  and  labor,  the  constant  aim  being  to  develop  any 
promising  plans  by  pointing  out  defects,  and  making  suggestions  of  improvement 
when  practicable."  64 

The  committee  examined  in  all  some  18  different  meters  and 
submitted  written  reports  on  most  of  them.  This  work  occupied 
a  year  and  a  half,  the  last  report  being  submitted  on  January  2, 
1868.  The  meter  of  Cox  and  Murphy  did  not,  in  the  end,  prove 
satisfactory,  and  the  committee  finally  turned  to  that  of  I.  P. 
Tice,  of  New  York,  which  was  recommended  to  the  Treasury 
Department  for  adoption  on  April  3,  1867.  On  August  i,  1867, 
Joseph  Henry  and  J.  E.  Hilgard  read  before  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  and  the  Commissioner  and  Deputy  Commissioner 
of  Internal  Revenue  a  statement  relative  to  modes  of  defeating 
the  operation  of  spirits  meters.55  On  October  9,  1867,  they  sub- 
mitted rules  for  the  use  of  the  Tice  meter,  and  by  the  end  of 
that  year  19  such  meters  had  been  attached  to  distilleries  in 

58  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  p.  56. 
54  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1867,  p.  12. 
KLoc.  cit.,  p.  24. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          245 

New  York.  Early  in  1867  General  Meigs  was  obliged  to  with- 
draw from  the  committee  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  was  re- 
placed by  L.  M.  Rutherfurd,  who  in  turn  was  prevented  by  sick- 
ness from  taking  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  committee.  The 
labors  of  1867  fell,  therefore,  entirely  upon  Henry  and  Hilgard. 

No  sooner  had  the  adoption  of  the  Tice  spirit  meter  been 
decided  upon  than  difficulties  began  to  arise  regarding  it.  The 
manufacturer,  through  sickness  and  unforeseen  mechanical 
difficulties,  failed  to  deliver  the  meters  as  promptly  as  agreed 
upon,  and  he  also  claimed  that  on  account  of  the  small  number 
ordered  the  cost  of  manufacturing  them  was  necessarily  greater. 
The  Treasury  Department  thereupon  increased  the  order  to  100 
meters.  As  already  mentioned,  a  number  of  these  instruments 
were  attached  to  distilleries  in  New  York  late  in  1867  and  early 
in  1868.  They  had  scarcely  been  put  into  operation  than  a  storm 
of  opposition  arose  from  the  distillers,  and  on  February  3,  1868, 
a  joint  resolution  of  Congress  was  approved  appointing  a  com- 
mission of  five  persons  who,  in  connection  with  the  committee 
of  the  Academy,  should  again  immediately  examine  all  meters 
presented  to  them  for  consideration  and  report  to  Congress  in 
detail  the  results  of  their  examination,  together  with  such  recom- 
mendations as  would  in  their  opinion  promote  the  interests  of 
the  Government.  The  resolution  also  directed  that  all  work  on 
the  construction  of  meters  under  direction  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment should  be  suspended  until  the  report  was  submitted, 
and  that  no  further  contract  for  such  instruments  should  be  made 
under  the  act  of  March  2,  i867.56 

The  introduction  of  this  resolution  led  to  an  extended  and 
acrimonius  discussion  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  a  discussion 
which  took  a  wide  range  and  even  involved  the  question  of  the 
integrity  of  the  highest  officers  of  the  Government.  Those  who 
opposed  the  measure  did  so  on  the  ground  that  no  form  of  meter 
would  protect  the  Government  from  fraud,  or  that  scientific 
men  were  not  qualified  to  pronounce  on  the  practical  utility  of 

"See  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  15,  1869,  pp.  246,  247,  4oth  Congress,  2d  Session,  Res.  no.  9. 


246  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

such  instruments  as  applied  to  distilleries,  or  that  the  new  com- 
mittee would  merely  renew  the  recommendation  of  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Academy,  or  that  to  enact  the  second  section  of  the 
resolution,  which  prohibited  the  Treasury  Department  from 
attaching  any  more  meters  to  distilleries  until  the  Commission 
reported,  would  open  the  door  to  greater  frauds.  Those  who 
favored  the  resolution  pointed  out  that  the  Tice  meter  had 
proved  effective  as  far  as  tried,  but  that  other  devices  had  been 
brought  forward  after  the  adoption  of  the  former  had  been 
decided  upon,  which  while  operating  on  the  same  principle, 
might  give  more  accurate  results,  or  operating  on  other  prin- 
ciples might  give  a  better  indication  of  the  amount  of  spirits 
produced  or  producible.  They  considered  that  the  inventors  of 
these  devices  were  entitled  to  a  hearing  and  that  the  distillers 
should  not  be  compelled  to  pay  for  the  Tice  meters  while  it  was 
still  uncertain  whether  they  might  not  be  soon  discarded  for 
more  effective  ones.  In  the  end  the  resolution  prevailed  and 
was  approved. 

Upon  the  passage  of  this  resolution,  the  manufacturer  whose 
meters  had  been  adopted  by  the  Treasury  Department,  I.  P. 
Tice,  discharged  his  employees  and  closed  his  manufactory. 
The  report  of  the  new  commission  was  submitted  in  March, 
1868,  and  was  again  favorable  to  the  Tice  meter,  which  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Academy  had  already  recommended.  No  action 
was  taken  thereon,  however,  until  July  20,  1868,  when  the  Com- 
missioner of  Internal  Revenue  was  authorized  to  adopt  and  pre- 
scribe for  use  such  meters  as  he  should  deem  necessary.  He  once 
more  adopted  the  Tice  meter,  and  Mr.  Tice  was  persuaded  to 
reopen  his  manufactory  and  construct  the  instruments  required. 
Though  he  employed  some  125  workmen  to  construct  the  meters 
and  others  to  attach  them  to  the  distilleries,  only  eleven  were  so 
equipped  in  November,  1868.  The  distillers  resisted  the  use  of 
the  meters  as  far  as  possible,  and  some  closed  their  distilleries  to 
prevent  the  application  of  the  instruments." 

The  matter  had  progressed  thus  far  when  the  Commissioner 
of  Internal  Revenue  began  to  entertain  suspicions  as  to  the 

57  Rep.  Comm.  Int.  Rev.  for  1868,  pp.  xx,  xxi. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          247 

real  utility  of  the  meter  and  to  resolve  his  doubts  he,  accordingly, 
appointed  an  expert  commission  to  make  a  series  of  practical 
tests  regarding  it  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  its  use  should  be 
continued.58 

Who  these  experts  were,  or  what  was  the  nature  of  their  rind- 
ing is  not  disclosed  in  the  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Internal  Revenue,  but  it  is  evident  that  the  latter  was  unfavorable 
to  the  use  of  the  meter,  for  we  read  in  the  report  for  1871  that 
"  the  period  within  which  distillers  were  required  to  procure 
meters  was  extended  from  time  to  time  until  the  8th  day  of  June, 
1871,  when  Circular  No.  96  was  issued  discontinuing  their  use." 

Thus,  at  the  end  of  nearly  five  years'  agitation  of  the  subject 
the  Government  abandoned  its  project  of  utilizing  meters  to 
gauge  the  capacity  of  distilleries,  but  found  itself  in  possession 
of  improved  instruments  for  proving  spirits.  Of  the  latter, 
which  were  recommended  by  the  committee  of  the  Academy 
the  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  said  in  1871,  "These 
instruments  distributed  under  the  present  system  of  inspection, 
seem  to  give  general  satisfaction,  and  their  accuracy  and  uni- 
formity have  relieved  the  trade  of  the  embarrassments  resulting 
from  errors  in  gauging." 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  GREYTOWN 
HARBOR,  NICARAGUA.     1866 

For  one  brief  period  the  Academy  was  concerned  with  a 
question  connected  with  the  great  problem  of  an  isthmian  canal 
which  had  occupied  so  many  minds  since  the  discovery  o<f 
America.  In  the  middle  of  the  iQth  century  attention  was  being 
concentrated  more  and  more  on  Nicaragua  as  the  region  which 
offered  the  greatest  natural  advantages  for  the  construction  of 
this  important  artificial  waterway,  and  diplomatic  contests  were 
being  waged  unceasingly  by  capitalists  and  by  the  principal  com- 
mercial nations  of  the  world  to  gain  or  maintain  control  over  the 

'sRep.  Comm.  Int.  Rev.  for  1869,  pp.  xvi,  xvii. 
59  Rep.  Comm.  Int.  Rev.  for  1871,  p.  vi. 
00  Op.  cit.,  p.  vii. 


248  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

enterprise.  Companies  were  organized  which  obtained  valuable 
concessions  from  the  existing  Nicaraguan  government,  only  to 
have  them  withdrawn  in  a  few  months  by  a  succeeding  govern- 
ment; undertakings  commenced  with  great  enthusiasm  and  a 
liberal  outlay  soon  languished  for  lack  of  financial  support,  or 
terminated  abruptly  in  consequence  of  the  expiration  of  charters ; 
adventurers  appeared  who  misled  the  Nicaraguan  legislatures 
by  claiming  the  support  of  European  powers,  but  were  soon 
repudiated  by  their  governments  and  forced  to  withdraw.  Such 
kaleidoscopic  changes  went  on  continuously  down  to  the  time 
when  the  French  Panama  Canal  Company  decided  to  offer  its 
holdings  to  the  United  States  at  a  price  which  the  latter  was 
willing  to  consider,  and  attention  turned  suddenly  from  Nicara- 
gua to  Panama. 

Among  the  American  companies  which  undertook  to  build 
the  Nicaraguan  canal  and  obtained  concessions  from  the 
government  was  one  organized  in  1849  and  called  the  "  Com- 
pania  de  Transito  de  Nicaragua."  This  was  soon  merged  in 
the  larger  "  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Ship-Canal  Company  "  con- 
trolled by  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  and  other  American  capitalists. 
As  the  ship-canal  was  likely  to  be  long  in  building,  a  subsidiary 
company  was  formed  in  1851,  which  opened  a  passenger  route 
from  Greytown  up  the  San  Juan  River  and  across  Lake  Nicara- 
gua by  boat,  and  thence  down  to  the  Pacific  coast  by  a  stage  road. 
This  route  had  been  in  operation  but  a  few  years  when  the 
American  adventurer  Walker  appeared  in  Nicaragua  and  hav- 
ing been  successful  in  overturning  the  existing  government  pro- 
ceeded to  have  the  charter  of  the  canal  company  revoked  and  its 
property  confiscated  in  retaliation  for  an  action  unfavorable  to 
his  ambitions  which  was  taken  by  the  United  States.  While 
the  company  was  endeavoring  to  recover  its  rights,  a  French  ad- 
venturer persuaded  the  Nicaraguan  government  to  turn  over 
the  canal  concession  to  him,  claiming  that  he  was  supported  in 
his  enterprise  by  France.  The  French  government,  however, 
repudiated  him,  and  the  Nicaraguans  being  now  in  a  friendly 
mood  toward  the  United  States  granted  the  rights  of  the  steam 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          249 

navigation  within  her  territories  and  the  construction  of  an 
interocean  canal  to  a  new  American  organization,  known  as 
the  Central  American  Transit  Company  of  which  Francis 
Morris  was  the  president.61  It  was  this  company  which  invoked 
the  aid  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  solving  the 
problem  of  improving  the  harbor  of  Greytown  on  San  Juan  del 
Norte,  that  was  to  be  the  Atlantic  terminus  of  the  canal. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  i9th  century  the  harbor  was  one  of 
the  most  important  on  that  coast.  In  1832  it  was  reported  that 
its  width  at  the  mouth  was  one  and  three-quarters  miles,  with 
a  channel  depth  of  30  feet.  Afterwards  it  became  rapidly  choked 
by  sand,  and  in  1861  the  width  of  the  entrance  was  only  300 
feet,  while  in  1865  Captain  Jones  of  H.  M.  S.  Shannon  reported 
that  it  had  a  bar  across  it  after  a  storm  from  the  North,  though  in 
continued  fine  weather  the  river  scoured  out  a  channel  of  eight 
or  ten  feet.  The  chart  made  by  the  American  engineer  Preston 
C.  F.  West  shows  but  8  feet  at  the  entrance  at  low  water  on 
February  4,  1865,  while  on  May  25  of  the  same  year  this 
entrance  was  closed  and  a  new  one  was  opened  through  the  sand 
spit  farther  to  the  East. 

The  idea  that  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  should  in- 
vestigate the  condition  of  the  harbor  and  if  possible  recommend 
means  for  improving  it  appears  to  have  originated  with  J.  E. 
Hilgard,  who  was  the  Acting  Superintendent  of  the  U.  S.  Coast 
Survey  in  1866,  and  corresponded  with  the  Nicaraguan  minister 
on  the  subject.  The  minister,  Don  Luis  Molina,  repeated  the 
suggestion  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Secretary  Seward  and  re- 
quested that  a  committee  of  the  Academy  be  appointed  to  carry 
it  into  effect.  Seward  in  turn  presented  the  matter  to  Joseph 
Henry,  then  Acting  President  of  the  Academy,  with  the  request 
that  he  would  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  Nicaraguan  min- 
ister, and  a  committee  was  duly  appointed.  The  correspond- 

61  There  were  two  of  these  transit  companies,  the  relations  between  which  are  not  clear. 
One  called  the  "  Nicaraguan  Transit  Company "  had  as  its  president  W.  H.  Webb,  while 
the  other,  as  noted,  was  called  the  "  Central  American  Transit  Company,"  and  had  Francis 
Morris  as  president. 


250  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

ence,  which  has  been  printed  in  the  report  of  the  Academy,  is 

as  follows : 62 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

"WASHINGTON,  July  12,  1866. 

"  SIR:  The  department  has  received  a  communication  from  the  minister  of 
the  republic  of  Nicaragua  containing  a  note  addressed  to  him  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Hil- 
gard,  in  charge  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  office,  recommending  the 
appointment  of  a  board  to  consist  of  the  members  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  of 
which  you  are  the  vice-president,  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  and  reporting 
upon  the  practicability  and  best  means  of  improving  the  navigation  of  the  Lower 
San  Juan  river,  and  reclaiming  the  harbor  of  San  Juan  del  Norte,  in  Nicaragua, 
which  recommendation  is  fully  approved  by  the  minister  in  his  communication  to 
this  department.  He  recommends  in  addition  that  Mr.  Hilgard  form  a  member 
of  the  board,  whom  he  represents  as  possessing  the  necessary  charts  and  reports, 
and  as  being  well  advised  on  the  difficult  subject  to  be  investigated. 

"  It  may  not  be  unnecessary  to  mention  the  fact  that  by  a  contract  entered  into 
between  the  government  of  Nicaragua  and  the  Central  American  Transit  Com- 
pany on  the  loth  of  November,  1863,  the  latter  undertakes  to  effect  a  good 
interoceanic  transit  through  the  republic  of  Nicaragua. 

"  I  would  thank  you  if  you  would  act  upon  the  suggestion  of  the  minister  of  the 
republic  of  Nicaragua;  and,  in  the  event  of  the  organization  of  the  board,  I  will 
beg  of  you  to  instruct  the  same,  that  should  a  good  interoceanic  transit  be  found 
impracticable  under  the  limitations  contained  in  the  contract  of  the  Central 
American  Transit  Company,  above  referred  to,  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of 
effecting  such  transit  way  within  the  region  surveyed  by  Captain  West. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 
"  PROFESSOR  JOSEPH  HENRY,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  Washington." 

"  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

"  September  20,  1866. 

"  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  in  compliance  with  your  request 
of  July  1 2th,  1866,  the  subject  of  the  improvement  of  the  river  and  harbor  of 
San  Juan  del  Norte,  in  Nicaragua,  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  and  that  this  committee  has  made  the  investigation  required, 
and  now  through  me  presents  the  accompanying  report. 

"  The  committee,  which  was  chosen  with  reference  to  special  fitness  from 
previous  study  and  experience  for  the  investigation,  consisted  of  the  following 
members  of  the  Academy:  A.  A.  Humphreys,  major  general  and  Chief  Engineer 
United  States  Army;  C.  H.  Davis,  rear-admiral  United  States  navy  and  Super- 

62  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  pp.  4,  5. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 

intendent  National  Observatory;  J.  E.  Hilgard,  assistant  United  States  Coast 
Survey,  acting  Superintendent. 

"  In  accordance  with  article  II,  section  4,  of  the  act  of  incorporation  of  the 
Academy,  Mr.  Henry  M.  Mitchell,  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey,  (not  a 
member  of  the  Academy),  was  appointed  to  assist  in  the  investigation. 

"  The  committee,  after  a  careful  study  of  all  the  materials  furnished  by  Don 
Luis  Molina,  and  those  obtained  from  other  sources,  has  arrived  at  conclusions 
and  are  enabled  to  give  suggestions,  which,  it  is  hoped,  may  be  found  of  value  to 
the  government  of  Nicaragua,  and  of  importance  in  the  commerce  of  the  world. 
The  report  of  the  committee  points  out  the  causes  and  progress  of  the  deterioration 
of  the  harbor  of  Greytown;  considers  the  question  of  its  partial  restoration,  and 
the  means  to  be  adopted  to  attain  this  end.  It  also  considers  the  problem  of 
increasing  the  depth  and  volume  of  water  in  the  river  as  an  essential  condition 
of  the  improvement  of  the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  and  presents  a  definite  opinion 
as  to  the  results  which  may  be  expected  when  the  works  which  are  indicated 
have  been  completed.  It  discusses  the  availability  of  the  Colorado  pass,  and  closes 
with  a  recapitulation  of  all  the  conclusions. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  JOSEPH  HENRY, 

"  Vice-President  of  the  National  Academy. 
"  HON.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

"  Secretary  of  State." 

There  is  little  to  add  to  Henry's  summary  of  the  report  of  the 
committee,  which  report  was  published  in  full  in  1867  as  an 
appendix  of  the  Annual  Report  for  the  preceding  year  and  gives 
a  good  general  idea  of  the  operations  of  the  committee.63 

The  committee  did  not  visit  Nicaragua,  but  formed  its  con- 
clusions entirely  from  the  documents  and  maps  laid  before  it 
by  Molina.  Its  principal  recommendation  for  the  improvement 
of  the  San  Juan  River  and  the  harbor  of  Greytown  will  be 
readily  understood  when  the  conformation  of  the  lower  portion 
of  the  river  is  explained.  At  a  point  about  15  miles  from  the 
coast  it  divides  into  two  branches  one  of  which  retains  the  name 
of  San  Juan,  while  the  other  is  known  as  the  Colorado.  The 
latter  has  by  far  the  greater  flow  of  water,  is  comparatively 
unobstructed,  and  is  open  to  navigation  by  steamboats  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year.  The  recommendation  of  the  committee 

63  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  pp.  4-16,  with  one  chart. 


NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

was  that  a  weir  should  be  placed  at  the  point  of  bifurcation  of 
the  two  streams  so  as  to  direct  about  one-half  of  the  water  of  the 
Colorado  River  to  the  San  Juan,  the  idea  being  that  the  increased 
flow  in  the  latter  which  would  result  would  probably  deepen  its 
channel,  while  at  the  same  time  increasing  the  supply  of  water 
in  the  harbor. 

It  is  obvious,  however,  that  the  committee  regarded  the  con- 
dition of  the  harbor  as  practically  hopeless,  and  that  it  was  far 
from  being  convinced  that  the  adoption  of  its  suggestions  would 
produce  satisfactory  results.  This  will  appear  from  the  follow- 
ing excerpts  from  the  report: 

"  The  deepening  that  we  have  advised  in  the  lower  San  Juan,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  weir,  may  prove  sufficient  to  improve  the  whole  stream,  since  the 
great  proportion  of  water  added  at  the  dry  season  and  the  considerable  increase 
of  the  wet  season  discharge  must  act  powerfully  upon  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and 
increase  its  depth  wherever  a  yielding  bottom  is  found.  It  may,  however,  well  be 
feared  that  this  scour,  induced  along  the  bed  of  the  stream,  will  sweep  into  the 
harbor-basin  masses  of  material  not  so  easily  removed  from  the  deeper  water  of 
the  anchorage-ground  as  from  their  present  positions. 

"  It  appears  possible  that  the  fate  of  Greytown  harbor  might  have  been  averted 
by  timely  efforts  to  arrest  the  sand  and  cut  off  their  supply We  have  pro- 
posed improvements,  but  these  must  fall  very  short  of  a  renovation  of  the  noble  har- 
bor that  once  welcomed  to  an  ample  and  secure  anchorage  the  largest  ships  that 

crossed  the  Caribbean  Sea The  original  bight  of  Greytown  cannot  be 

restored.  The  only  hope  of  improvement  rests  upon  the  possibility  of  maintaining 
a  navigable  outlet  from  the  present  lagoon  by  increasing  the  outflow  of  the  lower 
San  Juan  and  arresting  the  drifting  sand  of  the  coast The  basin  in  Grey- 
town,  where  ships  formerly  lay  at  anchor,  has  been  largely  reduced  in  size  and 
depth  by  the  advance  of  the  river  delta  upon  one  side  and  the  drifting  in  of  sand 
on  the  other.  The  time  is  not  very  distant  at  which  the  river  will  debouch  directly 
upon  the  sea. 

"  It  will  be  necessary  to  maintain  a  sufficient  anchorage  basin  by  means  of 
dredging."  6* 

It  is  a  matter  for  conjecture  how  far  the  committee  would 
have  modified  its  recommendations  if  it  had  visited  Nicaragua 
and  made  an  examination  into  the  conditions  actually  existing 
there.  Commander  E.  P.  Lull,  U.  S.  Navy,  who  made  a  survey 

64  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1866,  pp.  14,  15. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          253 

of  the  San  Juan  River  in  1873,  was  not  at  all  hopeful  that  the 
suggestions  of  the  committee  could  be  carried  into  effect.  He 
remarks  in  his  report: 

"A  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  1867  proposed,  as  a 
partial  remedy  for  the  decay  of  the  river  and  harbor,  the  dredging  out  of  the 
channel  of  the  Lower  San  Juan  and  the  construction  of  a  weir  from  Leaf's  Island 
to  Concepcion  Island.  The  latter  of  these  is  in  the  main  river,  near  its  right  bank, 
and  above  the  forks.  The  former  has  now  become  joined  to  the  angle  or  point  of 
the  mainland  between  the  two  branches.  Concepcion  Island  is  2,000  feet  from  the 
point.  The  strongest  part  of  the  current  runs  between  the  two.  The  island  is 
constantly  cutting  away  at  one  place  and  forming  at  another,  being  composed 
entirely  of  silt  banked  around  drift-logs  which  have  lodged  in  the  shoal  water. 

"  The  weir,  if  indeed  it  could  be  constructed  at  all  with  such  a  combination  of 
unfavorable  conditions,  viz.,  the  depth  and  strength  of  the  water,  and  the  yielding 
character  of  the  bottom,  would  be  quite  as  likely  to  fail  in  as  to  effect,  the  object  in 
view,  /'.  e.,  the  turning  of  the  current  into  the  Lower  San  Juan,  unless  the  latter 
was  dredged  out  to  a  sufficient  width  and  depth  to  prevent,  by  drawing  it  away, 
the  water  from  cutting  around  the  dam.  This  would  have  to  be  done  for  a  dis- 
tance of  thirteen  miles.  I  confess  myself  to  have  been  very  much  discouraged 
when  these  facts  and  convictions  impressed  themselves  on  my  mind."  65 

On  account  of  these  conditions,  he  proposed  to  eliminate  the 
Lower  San  Juan  and  carry  the  traffic  in  a  canal  which  should 
leave  the  river  at  a  point  about  42  miles  from  the  coast.  Recent 
maps  indicate  that  this  plan,  with  various  modifications,  was 
generally  accepted  down  to  the  time  when  the  interest  in  an 
interoceanic  canal  shifted  from  Nicaragua  to  Panama. 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  PROTECTION  OF  COAL  MINES  FROM 
EXPLOSION    BY    MEANS    OF    ELECTRICITY.     1870 

In  the  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  mention  of  this  committee 
is  made  under  date  of  April,  1870,  in  the  following  terms : 

"  Mr.  Gould  reported  in  behalf  of  himself  and  Mr.  Ferrel,  the  Committee  on 
the  letter  of  Mr.  Fua,  of  Padua,  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
in  reference  to  the  protection  of  Coal  Mines  from  explosion  by  electricity,  and 
referred  by  him  to  the  Academy, '  That  the  same  communication  has  been  made  to 

60  Report  of  Explorations  and  Surveys  for  a  Ship   Canal  through  Nicaragua,   1872-73, 
p.  61.     Sen.  Exec.  Doc.  no.  57,  43d  Congress,  ist  Session. 

18 


254  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

the  academies  of  Paris  and  Berlin,  by  Mr.  Fua,  and  published  by  them,  and  since 
the  methods  involve  no  new  principle  or  mode  of  application,  no  action  on  the 
part  of  the  President  or  Government  seems  to  be  needful.' 

"  The  report  was  accepted  and  the  Committee  discharged."  66 

On  turning  to  the  Comptes  Rendus  of  the  Academic  des 
Sciences,  Paris,  one  finds  this  statement  regarding  the  matter  in 
question : 

"  M.  Fua  soumet  au  jugement  de  F  Academic  quelques  details  relatifs  a  un 
precede  qu'il  croit  propre  a  prevenir  les  accidentes  causes  par  les  explosions  du 
grisou.  Ce  precede  consiste  essentiellement  dans  1'emploi  de  spirals  de  platine 
rendus  incandescentes,  a  certains  intervalles,  par  le  passage  d'un  courant  electrique ; 
ces  spirales  mettraient  le  feu  a  des  meches  de  coton  soufre,  trempees  dans  une 
pate  gommee  de  phosphore  et  de  chlorate  de  potasse."  67 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  EFFECT  OF  CHEMICALS  ON  INTERNAL 
REVENUE  STAMPS.     1870 

Prior  to  1870  it  was  the  practice  of  the  Government  to  print 
internal  revenue  stamps  on  ordinary  paper  in  ink  of  a  single  color. 
It  resulted  from  this  that  by  skilful  manipulation  the  cancellation 
marks  could  be  removed  and  the  stamps  used  a  second  time  to 
avoid  the  payment  of  revenue.  The  Government  thus  suffered 
serious  loss,  and  was  under  the  necessity  of  devising  means  of 
preventing  the  continuance  of  the  nefarious  practice.  The  Com- 
missioner of  Internal  Revenue,  therefore,  introduced  radical 
changes  as  regards  the  kind  of  paper  used  for  the  stamps  and  the 
ink  with  which  they  were  printed.  Instead  of  employing  ordinary 
paper,  a  special  kind  of  paper  was  adopted,  which  was  manu- 
factured under  the  supervision  of  the  Government.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  made  unlawful,  as  in  the  case  of  paper  for  bank-notes, 
to  make  any  of  it,  to  sell  it  or  to  have  it  in  one's  possession.  In- 
stead of  printing  with  one  kind  and  color  of  ink,  the  stamps  were 
printed  in  two  or  more  colors,  and  the  printing  was  divided 
between  private  contractors  and  the  Government,  the  former 
printing  certain  tints  on  them,  and  delivering  them  to  the  Bureau 

68Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  76-77. 
67  Comptes  Rendus,  vol.  68,  p.  805.     1869. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          25$ 

of  Engraving  and  Printing  which  completed  them  and  delivered 
them  to  the  office  of  the  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  to 
be  issued. 

In  order  to  ascertain  whether  these  changes  were  likely  to  be 
effective,  the  Acting  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  on  April 
13,  1870,  sent  some  specimens  of  the  stamps  to  the  Academy 
with  the  request  that  they  be  examined  by  it,  with  regard  to 
their  sensitiveness  to  the  action  of  chemicals.  This  request  was 
contained  in  the  following  letter 68  addressed  to  Joseph  Henry, 
President  of  the  Academy: 

"  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  OFFICE  OF  INTERNAL  REVENUE, 

"WASHINGTON,  April  13,  1870. 

"  SIR  :  In  accordance  with  the  third  Section  of  the  Act  of  Congress  incor- 
porating the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  herewith 
specimens  of  proposed  Internal  Revenue  Stamps  for  examination  and  report  with 
reference  to  their  sensitiveness  to  chemical  agencies  applied  for  the  purpose  of 
removing  ink,  cancellation  marks,  and  their  durability  under  ordinary  usage. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  J.  W.  DOUGLASS, 

"  Acting  Commissioner. 
"  PROF.  JOSEPH  HENRY, 

"  President  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  Washington,  D.  C" 

A  committee  consisting  of  Wolcott  Gibbs,  Samuel  W.  John- 
son and  John  Torrey  was  at  once  appointed  to  consider  the 
subject.  The  records  of  the  Academy  do  not  contain  the  report 
of  the  committee  but  we  may  infer  that  it  was  to  the  effect  that 
the  changes  introduced  would  prevent  fraud,  as  the  Commis- 
sioner remarked  in  the  following  year: 

"  It  is  believed  that  the  stamps  now  being  furnished  under  the  contracts  alluded 
to,  cannot  be  tampered  with.  Especially  is  this  thought  to  be  the  case  with  the 
adhesive,  and  tobacco,  snuff,  and  cigar  stamps  printed  on  chameleon  paper.  This 
paper  so  effectually  changes  its  color  upon  the  application  of  chemical  agents 
employed  for  the  restoring  of  stamps  for  re-use,  as  to  render  restoration  to  its 
original  state  impossible."  69 

Troc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  76. 
""Rep.  Comm.  Int.  Rev.  for  1870-71,  p.  xiv. 


256  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  TRANSIT  OF  VENUS.     1871  AND  1881 

Two  transits  of  Venus  across  the  sun's  disc  have  occurred 
since  the  foundation  of  the  Academy  fifty  years  ago.  These 
took  place  in  1874  and  in  1882.  No  more  will  occur  until  the 
year  2002.  As  early  as  1870,  or  even  before  that  date,  plans 
began  to  be  formulated  for  observing  these  rare  celestial  phe- 
nomena. At  the  session  of  the  Academy  held  in  Washington 
in  April,  1870,  Simon  Newcomb  read  a  paper,  "  On  the  coming 
transits  of  Venus  and  the  mode  of  observing  them,"  in  which  he 
said: 

"  .  .  .  .  Although  the  next  transit  does  not  occur  for  four  years,  the  pre- 
liminary arrangements  for  its  observation  are  already  being  made  by  the  govern- 
ments and  scientific  organizations  of  Europe.  It  is  not  likely  that  our  govern- 
ment will  be  backward  in  furnishing  the  means  to  enable  its  astronomers  to  take 
part  in  this  work.  The  principal  dangers  are,  I  apprehend,  those  of  setting  out 
with  insufficient  preparation,  with  unmatured  plans  of  observation,  and  without  a 
good  system  of  cooperation  among  the  several  parties.  For  this  reason  I  beg  leave 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  Academy  to  a  discussion  of  the  measures  by  which  we 
may  hope  for  an  accurate  result." 

After  explaining  the  methods  which  it  was  necessary  to 
employ,  he  remarked: 

"  ....  I  have  endeavored  to  show  that  no  valuable  result  is  to  be  expected 
from  hastily-organized  and  hurriedly-equipped  expeditions;  that  every  step  in 
planning  the  observations  requires  careful  consideration,  and  that  in  all  the  pre- 
paratory arrangements  we  should  make  haste  very  slowly.  I  make  this  presenta- 
tion with  the  hope  that  the  Academy  will  take  such  action  on  the  matter  as  may 
seem  proper  and  desirable."  70 

At  the  same  session  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Academy  to  secure  the  successful  observation  of  the 
transit.  It  consisted  of  Benjamin  Peirce,  Superintendent  of  the 
Coast  Survey,  Rear-Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis,  at  that  time  in 
charge  of  the  Naval  Station  at  Norfolk,  and  Commodore  B.  F. 
Sands,  Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Observatory. 

In  his  report  for  the  year  1870,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
George  M.  Robeson,  remarked : 

™Amer.  Journ.  Sci.,  ser.  2,  vol.  50,  1870,  pp.  74-83.  On  the  mode  of  observing  the  coming 
Transits  of  Venus.  By  Simon  Newcomb.  Read  before  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences, 
April  13,  1870. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          257 

"  The  arrangements  necessary  to  secure  the  successful  observation  of  the  transit 
of  Venus,  which  will  occur  on  December  8,  1874,  have  begun  to  receive  the  atten- 
tion of  the  observatory. 

"  It  is  essential  to  the  complete  success  of  these  observations  that  the  various 
parties  which  may  be  sent  out  by  the  Government  should  make  their  observations 
on  a  uniform  and  carefully  prepared  plan. 

"  The  Superintendent  of  the  Observatory  has  been  invited  to  become  a  member 
of  a  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  appointed  to  devise  such  a 
plan.  The  functions  of  the  Academy  being  purely  advisory,  and  it  being  expected 
that  the  cooperation  and  assistance  of  the  ablest  astronomers  of  the  country  would 
be  secured  by  this  committee,  the  invitation  was  accepted. 

"  Although  this  committee  has  not  yet  met,  certain  experiments  and  trials  with 
the  apparatus  and  instruments  of  observation  are  necessary  in  any  case.  As  many 
experiments  and  many  alterations  of  apparatus,  all  requiring  time  and  careful 
consideration,  may  be  necessary,  the  small  appropriation  of  $3,000,  for  instruments 
and  apparatus,  is  called  for."  71 

In  the  Sundry  Civil  Act  for  the  fiscal  year  1872,  approved 
March  3,  1871,  Congress  made  an  initial  appropriation  for  the 
expenses  of  observing  the  transit,  but  reduced  the  amount  pro- 
posed by  the  Secretary  to  $2,ooo.72 

For  some  reason  which  is  not  apparent  the  committee  of  the 
Academy  was  increased  in  April,  1871,  by  the  addition  of  five 
new  members,  namely,  L.  M.  Rutherfurd,  J.  C.  Watson,  Simon 
Newcomb,  J.  H.  C.  Coffin,  and  F.  A.  P.  Barnard. 

The  following  year  (1872)  Rear-Admiral  Sands,  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Naval  Observatory,  reported  thus : 

"  At  the  last  session  of  Congress  an  appropriation  was  made  for  the  purchase  of 
instruments  for  the  proper  observation  of  the  transit  of  Venus  in  1874,  to  be 
expended  under  the  direction  of  a  commission,  to  be  composed  of  the  Superin- 
tendent and  two  Professors  of  the  Naval  Observatory,  the  President  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  the  Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Coast 

"Rep.  Seer.  Navy  for  1870,  p.  46. 

"The  item  in  the  Sundry  Civil  Act  is  as  follows: 

"For  preparing  instruments  for  observation  of  transit  of  Venus,  two  thousand  dollars; 
Provided,  That  this  and  all  other  appropriations  made  for  the  observations  of  the  transits 
of  Venus  shall  be  expended,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  under  the 
direction  of  a  commission  to  be  composed  of  the  superintendent  and  two  of  the  professors 
of  mathematics  of  the  navy  attached  to  the  Naval  Observatory,  the  president  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  the  superintendent  of  the  coast  survey,  for  which  services 
they  shall  not  receive  any  compensation."  Star,  at  Large,  vol.  16,  1871,  p.  529,  4ist  Congress, 
3d  Session,  chap.  117,  1871. 


258  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Survey.  Professor  Simon  Newcomb,  United  States  Navy,  and  William  Hark- 
ness,  United  States  Navy,  were  detailed  as  the  two  Professors  of  the  Observatory, 
and,  at  a  meeting  of  the  commission,73  the  Naval  Observatory  was  authorized  to 
take  charge  of  the  details  of  the  Transit  of  Venus  expedition.  Experiments  are 
being  made  and  preparations  are  now  in  hand  for  completing  contracts  for  the 
manufacture  of  the  necessary  instruments  and  planning  the  proper  temporary 
observatories  for  the  several  stations  to  be  occupied.  This  necessarily  takes  much 
of  the  time  of  the  Professors,  but  as  legitimate  work  of  such  an  institution  it  is 
cheerfully  and  zealously  performed."  74 

In  the  meantime,  in  the  Sundry  Civil  Act  for  1873,  approved 
June  10,  1872,  Congress  had  made  a  second  appropriation 
for  the  purchase  and  preparation  of  instruments,  amounting  to 
$50,000,  to  be  expended,  like  the  first,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Commission.75 

The  time  of  the  transit  was  now  approaching  and  the  Chief 
of  the  Bureau  of  Navigation,  Daniel  Ammen,  reported  at  the 
close  of  that  fiscal  year  (1873),  that  the  preparations  were 
practically  complete.76  Admiral  Sands  also  remarked,  "  The 
work  progresses  favorably,  and  the  expeditions  are  expected  to 
leave  their  stations  early  next  June."  " 

Congress  made  a  third  appropriation  for  the  fiscal  year  1874, 
amounting  this  time  to  $100,000,  to  enable  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  to  organize  parties  to  observe  the  transit,  and  in  conjunc- 
tion therewith  authorized  him  to  detail  two  vessels  to  convey 
them  to  their  several  stations.78 

Early  in  1874  Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis  became  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Naval  Observatory  and  in  that  capacity  took  part 

7*The  first  meeting  of  the  Commission  was  held  July  22,  1872. 

7*Rep.  Seer.  Navy  for  1872,  p.  94.  Prof.  J.  H.  C.  Coffin,  Superintendent  of  the  Nautical 
Almanac  Office,  reported  the  same  year. 

"As  one  of  the  preparations  for  the  transit  of  Venus,  in  December,  1874,  maps  and 
tables  to  facilitate  predictions  of  the  several  phases  of  that  phenomenon  have  been  con- 
structed by  Mr.  G.  W.  Hill,  of  this  Office.  Their  publication  has  been  assumed  by  this  com- 
mission on  this  transit  appointed  by  Congress,  as  one  of  their  series  of  valuable  papers 
relating  to  it."  Op.  cit.,  p.  96. 

"  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  17,  1873,  p.  367,  42d  Congress,  2d  Session,  chap.  415. 

78  Rep.  Seer.  Navy  for  1873,  p.  79. 

"  Op.  cit.,  p.  94. 

78  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  17,  1873,  p.  514,  42d  Congress,  3d  Session,  chap.  227,  1873.  Sundry 
Civil  Act  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1874,  approved  March  3,  1873. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          259 

as  chairman  of  the  Transit  of  Venus  Commission  in  the  opera- 
tions then  in  progress.79  His  report  and  that  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  contain  an  admirable  summary  of  the  undertaking  up 
to  June  30,  1874.  The  Secretary,  George  M.  Robeson,  writes: 

"  It  has  been  a  part  of  the  duty  of  this  Department,  under  provisions  of  laws 
passed  by  Congress  at  its  last  three  sessions,  to  organize  expeditions  for  observing 
the  transit  of  Venus,  which  occurs  on  December  8  of  the  present  year.  A  plan 
of  observation  was  very  carefully  matured  by  the  commission  created  by  Congress 
for  that  purpose  in  1871,  and  the  organization  and  arrangement  of  the  parties  were 
made  to  accord  with  that  plan.  The  entire  scientific  corps  of  the  expedition,  num- 
bering forty-two  persons  in  all,  spent  several  weeks  at  the  Naval  Observatory  last 
spring  in  preliminary  practice  with  the  same  instruments  they  were  to  use  at  the 
stations,  thus  becoming  familiar  with  the  difficult  and  delicate  operations  involved 
in  the  final  observations.  The  five  parties  designed  for  the  southern  stations 
were  embarked  on  the  ship  Swatara,  Capt.  Ralph  Chandler,  and  sailed  from 
New  York  June  8.  So  far  as  yet  known  the  parties  were  all  successfully  landed 
at  the  selected  stations,  with  the  single  exception  of  that  on  the  Crozet  Islands. 
Here  there  is  no  anchorage,  and  the  constant  stormy  weather  which  prevailed 
during  the  period  which  it  was  prudent  for  the  ship  to  delay,  prevented  a  landing. 
The  possibility  of  this  failure  had  been  anticipated  by  the  commission,  and  the 
Swatara  had  been  directed  to  land  the  party  at  or  near  Melbourne,  in  the  event 
of  failure  to  land  at  the  station  first  selected. 

"  The  three  northern  parties  were  sent  by  the  regular  course  of  commercial 
conveyance  to  Nagasaki,  which  had  been  selected  as  one  of  the  stations.  The 
parties  designed  for  Wladiwostok  and  Peking  were  taken  thither  from  Nagasaki 
by  naval  ships. 

"  It  not  being  prudent  to  attempt  the  return  of  all  the  southern  parties  by  the 
Swatara,  the  Monongahela  was  sent  out  from  the  Brazilian  station  to  convey  the 
party  from  Kerguelan  Island  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  whence  they  can  return  by  regular 
lines  of  travel."  80 

Admiral  Davis  adds  some  interesting  information  regarding 
the  photographic  work  connected  with  the  observations: 

"  Under  the  specific  action  and  direction  of  this  commission,  from  time  to 
time  the  requisite  instruments  have  been  selected  and  made ;  the  parties  have  been 
constituted,  the  station  adopted,  and  the  work  of  preparation  and  instruction 
has  been  carefully  matured  and  strictly  executed. 

"At  the  meeting  of  the  gth  of  February,  1874,  it  was  decided  to  invite  Dr. 
Henry  Draper,  of  New  York,  to  take  charge  of  the  work  of  putting  into  suc- 

79  See  Life  of  Charles  H.  Davis,  p.  332. 

80  Rep.  Seer.  Navy  for  1874,  p.  16. 


260  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

cessful  execution  the  various  operations  necessary  for  photographing  the  transit 
of  Venus  by  the  methods  decided  upon  by  the  commission,  and  of  instructing  the 
parties  in  those  operations.  Dr.  Draper  accepted  this  arduous  duty,  and  per- 
formed it  in  a  manner  which  commands  the  gratitude  and  respect  of  the  com- 
mission. Dr.  Draper  declined  to  receive  any  compensation  or  reimbursement  for 
his  invaluable  services  and  for  his  unavoidable  personal  expenses  while  traveling 
and  residing  in  Washington,  on  the  service  of  the  commission. 

"  The  system  of  practice  was  fully  carried  out,  and  the  several  parties  destined 
for  the  observation  of  the  transit  of  Venus  in  both  hemispheres,  left  the  United 
States  fully  qualified  in  all  respects  to  perform  their  duties. 

"  Instructions  for  conducting  the  scientific  operations  of  the  parties  were  pre- 
pared by  Professor  Newcomb,  printed,  and  freely  distributed."  81 

The  Transit  of  Venus  Commission  of  1874,  which  was  con- 
sidered as  having  continued  in  existence,  took  charge  of  the 
arrangements  for  the  observations  of  the  transit  of  1882  and 
prepared  instructions  to  the  observers  that  were  printed  by 
authority  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.82  The  Secretary  remarks 
as  follows  in  his  report  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1882: 

"  TRANSIT  OF  VENUS 

"  Professor  Harkness  has  been  principally  occupied  in  fitting  out  the  parties  for 
observing  the  approaching  Transit  of  Venus,  and  in  reducing  the  zone  observations 
made  in  Chili  during  the  years  1850,  1851,  and  1852,  by  the  astronomical  expe- 
dition to  the  southern  hemisphere,  under  the  late  Capt.  James  M.  Gilliss 

"  Everything  relating  to  the  organization  of  the  Transit  of  Venus  parties  is 
confided  by  law  to  the  Transit  of  Venus  Commission ;  but  as  most  of  the  executive 
work  has  been  done  at  the  Observatory,  it  may  be  proper  to  refer  to  it  here. 

"  The  instruments  used  for  the  last  Transit  have  been  examined  and  repaired ; 
all  necessary  changes  have  been  made  in  them,  and  some  new  instruments  have 
been  purchased. 

"  At  a  very  early  stage  of  its  deliberations  the  Commission  decided  to  rely 
mainly  upon  the  photographic  method  of  observing,  and,  to  ascertain  the  most 
suitable  kind  of  emulsion,  an  extensive  series  of  experiments  was  made  by  Mr. 
Joseph  A.  Rogers,  who  has  also  prepared  all  the  emulsion  needed  for  the  various 
parties. 

81  Rep.  Seer.  Navy  for  1874,  pp.  68-69. 

82  Instructions  for  observing  the  Transit  of  Venus,  December  6,   1882,  prepared  by  the 
Commission  authorized  by  Congress,  and  printed  for  the  use  of  the  observing  parties  by 
authority  of  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Navy.     Washington,  1882.     4°.     Pp.  1-50,  with 
4  charts. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          261 

"  The  number  of  parties  organized  is  the  same  as  at  the  last  Transit,  namely, 
eight,  of  which  four  will  remain  in  the  United  States,  and  the  other  four  have 
already  departed  for  the  southern  hemisphere."  83 

The  following  additional  information  also  appears  in  the  same 
report: 

"  TRANSIT  OF  VENUS 

"  The  preparations  for  observing  the  coming  transit  of  Venus  have  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  Transit  of  Venus  Commission,  of  which  the  Superintendent 
of  the  Naval  Observatory  is  the  chairman. 

"  The  method  selected  for  the  observation  will  be  similar  to  that  used  in  1874, 
viz.,  by  photography.  A  party  will  occupy  each  of  the  following  stations:  Cape 
of  Good  Hope;  Santa  Cruz,  Patagonia;  Santiago  de  Chile;  New  Zealand;  San 
Antonio,  Tex.;  Cedar  Keys,  Fla.;  Fort  Selden,  N.  Mex. ;  and  Washington, 
D.  C."  84 

The  results  of  the  observations  of  1882  have  not  been  published 
in  detail,  and  perhaps  will  not  be,  but  a  report  from  each  station 
is  included  in  Newcomb's  "  Astronomical  Constants "  in  the 
supplement  to  the  American  Ephemeris  of  1887,  pages  71  to  77. 

COMMITTEE    ON  WATER-PROOFING   THE    FRACTIONAL 

CURRENCY.    1875 

In  1875  the  Government  was  making  use  of  a  secret, 
patented  process  for  water-proofing  the  paper  on  which  the 
fractional  currency  and  funded-loan  bonds  were  printed.  The 
principal  feature  of  the  process  was  that  the  paper  was  sized 
after  having  been  printed  upon.  During  the  first  session  of 
the  44th  Congress,  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives on  Expenditures  in  the  Treasury  Department  requested  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  submit  answers  to  a  series  of  ques- 
tions relating  to  the  printing  of  the  securities  of  the  United 
States.  The  last  two  questions  in  the  series,  which  numbered 
twenty- two  in  all,  were  as  follows: 

"21.  Does  the  amount  given  in  answer  to  the  fifteenth  question,  include  the 
expense  of  labor  in  the  use  of  the  water-proofing  process,  and  also  the  amount  of 
royalty  paid  for  its  use  ? 

83  Rep.  Seer.  Navy  for  1882,  vol.  i,  p.  117. 

84  Loc.  cit.,  p.  no. 


262  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  22.  State  if  any  commission,  and  composed  of  what  persons,  by  name,  has 
examined  the  value  of  the  water-proofing  process,  as  recommended  in  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Banking  and  Currency,  made  February  16,  1875 ;  and,  if  so, 
please  annex  a  copy  of  their  report,  if  any  has  been  made.  If  no  report  has  been 
made  to  you  in  writing,  has  any  and  what  oral  report  been  made  to  you?  And 
have  you  urged  the  parties  having  the  matter  in  charge  to  make  report  to  you."  8S 

These  detailed  inquiries  were  directed  primarily  at  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Academy.  In  replying  to  them,  on  March  31,  1876, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  B.  H.  Bristow,  remarked  that 
no  royalty  was  paid  on  the  water-proofing  material,  which  was 
purchased  by  the  gallon,  and  that  on  July  30,  1875,  he  had 
requested  the  President  of  the  Academy,  Professor  Henry, 
to  appoint  a  committee  to  examine  into  the  merits  of  the  water- 
proofing process.  He  remarked  that  Professors  J.  E.  Hilgard, 
C.  F.  Chandler,  Henry  Morton  and  William  Sellers  had  been 
appointed,  and  continued  as  follows : 

"On  the  3Oth  of  August  last  [1875]  I  requested  those  gentlemen  to  com- 
mence their  investigations,  and  at  the  same  time  I  instructed  the  Chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  to  afford  them  every  facility  therefor  in  his 
power. 

"  I  am  advised  that  they  called  and  examined  the  machinery  for  applying  the 
'  water-proofing '  to  the  paper,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done,  and  that 
they  were  furnished  with  a  sample  of  the  material  and  with  specimens  of  blank 
and  printed  paper,  water-proofed  and  not  water-proofed.  Every  facility  to  con- 
duct their  investigation  was  afforded  them,  and  they  were  furnished  with  all 
the  information  possible  upon  the  subject. 

"  During  the  autumn  Professor  Hilgard,  chairman  of  the  commission,  called  on 
me  and  submitted  for  my  inspection  a  memorandum  in  writing  of  the  principal 
points  of  his  proposed  report,  which  were  deduced  from  his  examination.  He 
stated,  as  the  result  of  his  examination  and  tests,  that  he  was  convinced  that  the 
process  in  question  was  of  great  advantage  and  of  great  utility  both  as  to  dura- 
bility and  security,  and  that  he  would  recommend  that  the  Government  should 
purchase  the  invention  from  the  proprietor,  with  a  view  to  a  more  economical 
application  of  the  process. 

"  The  general  tenor  of  the  report  having  been  thus  foreshadowed  by  the 
chairman  of  the  commission,  I  saw  no  reason,  at  that  time,  and  have  had  no  cause 

85  House  Misc.  Doc.  no.  163,  44th  Congress,  ist  Session,  pp.  2,  3;  ordered  printed,  April  3, 
1876. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          263 

since,  to  question  the  usefulness  of  the  process,  and  I  therefore  continued  its  use 
until  the  Bureau  was  closed  and  work  on  the  fractional  currency  stopped 

"  Professor  Henry  has  recently  procured  additional  sheets  of  water-proofed 
and  not  water-proofed  paper  for  the  purpose  of  further  testing  the  matter. 

"  On  the  first  instant  [March  I,  1876]  I  requested  him,  by  letter,  to  have  the 
report  of  the  commission  made  as  soon  as  practicable,  it  having  already  been 
delayed  a  considerable  time."  86 

The  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  was  not 
satisfied  with  these  answers  and  on  May  2,  1876,  called  for  all 
the  papers  in  the  case,  the  real  state  of  which  then  became  mani- 
fest. The  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Academy  had  been 
finished  and  sent  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  April  29, 
1876,  who  transmitted  it  with  the  other  papers.87  Professor 
Hilgard's  memorandum  was  also  included. 

From  these  papers  it  appears  that  Professor  Hilgard  had 
changed  his  opinion  regarding  the  water-proofing  process  on 
account  of  the  results  of  certain  experiments  made  by  Pro- 
fessor Morton,  and  had  affixed  his  signature  to  a  report  deny- 
ing the  value  of  the  process  instead  of  affirming  it,  as  he  had 
done  in  his  memorandum.  In  the  meantime,  Professor  Henry 
had  made  certain  experiments,  as  indicated  above,  and  had 
reached  the  conclusion  that  the  committee  had  not  proved  that 
the  process  was  worthless.  He  therefore  returned  the  report 
with  the  request  that  the  committee  would  reconsider  its  decision. 
This  the  committee  found  itself  unable  to  do  and  Professor 
Henry  then  transmitted  the  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  but  attached  a  note  to  it  expressing  his  own  convictions 
in  the  matter. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  secured  an  independent 
favorable  opinion  from  Prof.  John  M.  Ordway.  It  followed 
therefore,  that  Hilgard,  Morton,  Chandler,  and  Sellers  were  not 
in  favor  of  the  continuance  of  the  use  of  the  process,  while  Henry 
and  Ordway  regarded  it  as  valuable,  or  at  least  were  not  con- 
vinced of  its  worthlessness. 

88  Loc.  clt.,  p.  14. 

87  It  forms  part  of  House  Misc.  Doc.  no.  163,  part  2,  pp.  22-28,  44th  Congress,  ist  Session. 


264  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

COMMITTEES  ON  THE  ARTIFICIAL  COLORING  OF  SUGARS, 
ON  THE  USE  OF  THE  POLARISCOPE  TO  DETERMINE  THE 
VALUE  OF  SUGARS,  AND  ON  DEMARARA  SUGARS.  1876-1878 

These  three  committees  were  appointed  in  1876,  1877,  and 
1878  at  the  request  of  the  Treasury  Department,  and  were  con- 
cerned with  the  question  of  the  valuation  of  sugars  in  connec- 
tion with  customs  duties.88  For  many  years  the  duties  on 
different  grades  of  sugars  were  levied  in  accordance  with  their 
color,  or  what  was  known  as  the  Dutch  standard.  After  a  time, 
however,  the  Government  began  to  suspect  that  certain  sugars 
were  artificially  colored,  whereby  the  higher  grades  were  made 
to  assume  the  appearance  of  the  lower  grades,89  and  were  in 
consequence  assessed  at  a  lower  rate  than  that  which  was  prop- 
erly chargeable.  In  a  test  case  which  was  tried  in  Baltimore  in 
1878,  the  court  decided  that  the  fact  of  the  artificial  coloring  of 
the  sugars  concerned  for  the  purpose  of  defrauding  the  revenue 
was  proven  but  held  that  no  penalty  could  be  enforced  because 
it  was  not  demonstrated  that  the  importer  had  a  guilty  knowledge 
that  the  coloring  was  done  for  the  purpose  of  escaping  the  higher 
duty.90  Thus,  while  the  fact  that  certain  sugars  were  artificially 
colored  was  no  longer  in  question,  the  position  of  the  Govern- 
ment as  regards  the  collection  of  duties  was  no  better  than  before. 
Acting  on  the  opinion  of  the  court,  however,  the  Treasury  De- 
partment temporarily  ordered  that  wherever  the  color  of  sugar 
was  mentioned  in  the  law  it  should  be  interpreted  as  meaning 
the  color  which  it  would  naturally  have  as  a  result  of  the  partic- 
ular process  by  which  it  had  been  produced,  or  at  the  particular 
stage  to  which  the  process  of  clarification  had  been  carried. 
Whenever  there  was  reason  to  suspect  that  sugar  had  been 
artificially  colored,  its  saccharine  strength  was  to  be  determined 
and  duty  levied  in  accordance  with  the  color  which  it  would 
normally  have  when  of  that  strength.91  The  strength  was  deter- 
mined by  the  use  of  the  polariscope,  and  the  Customs  Office  had 

88  Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  133.     Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1879,  p.  n. 
"Rep.  Seer.  Treas.  for  1877,  pp.  xxvi,  xxvii. 
90  Rep.  Seer.  Treas.  for  1878,  p.  xxvii. 
"Rep.  Seer.  Treas.  for  1879,  pp.  xxiv,  xxv. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          265 

a  corps  of  employees,  known  as  examiners,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  test  samples  of  sugar  by  means  of  the  polariscope  and  report 
their  findings  to  the  chemist  in  charge.  This  system  continued 
in  practice  for  a  few  years,  but  always  against  protest  of  the 
importers,  and  in  1882  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  the 
customs  officers  were  bound  under  the  law  to  accept  the  color 
as  it  appeared  and  levy  duties  accordingly,  although  they  might 
be  entirely  certain  that  the  coloration  was  artificial.92 

It  is  not  quite  clear  from  the  records  of  the  Academy  at  what 
point  in  the  development  of  the  matter  its  advice  was  sought  by 
the  Government,  or  what  the  exact  relationships  were  between 
the  different  committees,  but  apparently  the  main  questions  re- 
lated to  the  natural  colors  of  different  grades  of  sugar,  and  the 
use  of  the  polariscope  in  determining  saccharine  strength. 

The  first  committees  were  probably  appointed  in  1876  but 
their  membership  is  not  a  matter  of  record.  They  were  styled 
in  the  Annual  Report  of  1879  committees  on  "  Artificial  coloring 
of  sugars  designed  to  simulate  a  lower  grade  according  to  the 
standard  on  which  duties  are  levied  "  and  in  the  same  place  the 
remark  is  made :  "  This  subject  was  repeatedly  considered  by 
committees  of  the  academy  in  1876  and  1877,  and  reports  were 
made  to  the  [Treasury]  department,  which  for  obvious  reasons 
have  not  been  published."  93  From  various  statements  contained 
in  the  reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  it  seems  allowable 
to  suppose  that  the  Academy  suggested  the  use  of  the  polariscope, 
or  even  made  experiments  demonstrating  that  certain  sugars 
were  artificially  colored,  and  that  the  fact  could  be  determined 
by  means  of  that  instrument.  The  President  of  the  Academy, 
Joseph  Henry,  acted  as  a  separate  committee  on  the  use  of  the 
polariscope  or  polarimeter,  for  determining  the  value  of  sugars, 
and  reported  in  1877.  ^n  *he  same  year  a  third  committee, 
Frederick  A.  Genth,  reported  to  the  Treasury  Department  on 
"  Demarara  sugars,"  but  the  nature  of  his  report  is  not  a  matter 
of  record. 

92  Rep.  Seer.  Treas.  for  1882,  pp.  xxii,  xxiii. 
94  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1879,  p.  n. 


266  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

As  already  mentioned,  the  Treasury  Department,  about  the 
year  1878,  introduced  the  use  of  the  polariscope  in  determining 
the  saccharine  strength  of  certain  sugars  suspected  of  being 
artificially  colored,  but  in  1882  the  Supreme  Court  ruled  that 
the  Department  was  obliged  under  the  law  to  accept  the  color 
as  it  appeared.  This  unsatisfactory  condition  of  affairs  was 
brought  to  the  attention  of  Congress  the  same  year  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  who  remarked  in  his  report: 

"  The  Supreme  Court,  in  a  recent  decision,  has  interpreted  the  existing  law  to 
be,  that  customs  officers  may  not  look  beyond  the  apparent  color,  and  must  classify 
the  invoices  thereby,  though  satisfied  that  the  color  is  artificial  and  made  to  get  a 
lower  rate  of  duty.  That  standard  [the  Dutch  standard]  was  adopted,  doubt- 
less, believing  that  color  showed  value.  The  intention  was  to  put  upon  sugar, 
duties  in  effect  ad  valorem.  As  it  has  come  about,  however,  the  grades  of  sugar 
highest  in  value,  when  thus  artificially  colored,  come  in  at  the  lowest  rate  of  duty. 
The  purpose  of  Congress  in  adopting  the  Dutch  standard  is  measurably  defeated. 
Provision  should  be  made  for  just  classification.  This  may  be  done  by  putting  on 
an  ad  valorem  duty,  by  a  specific  duty,  or  by  authorizing  some  standard  other  than 
that  of  apparent  color.  Now,  domestic  producers  do  not  get  the  incidental  pro- 
tection meant  to  be  given  them.  Importers,  too,  are  subject  to  embarrassment  in 
fixing  the  rate  of  duty  on  their  goods,  and  otherwise,"  94 

On  this  representation  Congress,  in  1883,  enacted  the  follow- 
ing law,  authorizing  the  use  of  the  polariscope  in  certain 
instances : 

"  An  act  to  reduce  internal-revenue  taxation,  and  for  other  purposes. 

"Be  it  enacted  (etc.),  ....   (p.  488). 

"  SEC.  6.  That  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  July,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty- 
three,  the  following  sections  shall  constitute  and  be  a  substitute  for  Title  thirty- 
three  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States : 

"  TITLE  xxxui 
"  DUTIES  UPON  IMPORTS  (p.  489) 

"  SCHEDULE  E. — SUGAR 

"  All  sugars  not  above  No.  13  Dutch  standard  in  color  shall  pay  duty  on  their 
polariscopic  test  as  follows,  viz: 

"  All  sugars  not  above  No.  13  Dutch  standard  in  color,  all  tank  bottoms,  sirups 
of  cane  juice  or  of  beet  juice,  melada,  concentrated  melada,  concrete  and  con- 

MRep.  Seer.  Treas.  for  1882,  pp.  xxii,  xxiii. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          267 

centrated  molasses,  testing  by  the  polariscope  not  above  seventy-five  degrees,  shall 
pay  a  duty  of  one  and  forty-hundredths  cent  per  pound,  and  for  every  additional 
degree  or  fraction  of  a  degree  shown  by  the  polariscopic  test,  they  shall  pay  four- 
hundredths  of  a  cent  per  pound  additional. 

"All  sugars  above  No.  13  Dutch  standard  in  color  shall  be  classified  by  the 
Dutch  standard  of  color,  and  pay  duty  as  follows,  namely:  "  .  .  .  .  (p.  502 ).95 

Thus,  the  use  of  the  polariscope  in  levying  duties  on  certain 
grades  of  sugar,  recommended,  as  we  may  believe,  by  the 
National  Academy,  was  finally  legalized,  and  the  executive 
branch  of  the  Government  was  aided,  for  a  time,  at  least,  in  its 
efforts  to  collect  the  proper  revenue  from  this  commodity. 

COMMITTEE    ON    PROPOSED    CHANGES    IN    THE 
AMERICAN   EPHEMERIS.     1877 

This  committee  was  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  who,  in  December,  1877,  expressed  the  desire  that 
the  Academy  would  advise  him  as  to  changes  in  the  Nautical 
Almanac  which  would  render  that  publication  more  useful  to 
navigators  and  others.  The  members  of  the  committee  were 
J.  E.  Hilgard,  J.  H.  C.  Coffin,  Asaph  Hall,  Charles  A.  Schott, 
Charles  A.  Young,  James  C.  Watson  and  C.  H.  F.  Peters.  It 
reported  at  the  end  of  the  year  1877  or  early  in  1878,  but  the 
report  appears  not  to  have  been  published.  From  the  report 
of  Prof.  Simon  Newcomb  as  Superintendent  of  the  Nautical 
Almanac  for  the  fiscal  year  1877-78,  however,  we  learn  the 
nature  of  the  changes  proposed  by  the  Academy.  Under  date 
of  October  26,  1878,  he  writes: 96 

"  ....  In  December,  1877,  on  recommendation  of  the  office,  the  honorable 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  referred  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  the  question, 
what  changes  were  required  in  the  Ephemeris  to  make  it  more  serviceable  to  those 
who  use  it.  A  committee  of  the  Academy  recommended  several  extensive  changes, 
involving  the  omission  of  matter  of  which  some  was  not  regarded  as  necessary, 
and  some  could  be  readily  derived  from  data  in  other  parts  of  the  work.  The 
space  thus  left  was  filled  by  the  addition  of  matter  considered  useful.  The  chiefs 
of  several  government  surveys  desired  a  large  increase  in  the  list  of  fixed  stars 
contained  in  the  Ephemeris,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  determination  of  geographical 

85  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  22,  1883,  pp.  488,  489,  502,  47th  Congress,  2d  Session,  1883,  chap.  121. 
"Rep.  Seer.  Navy  for  1878,  pp.  162-164. 


268  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

positions.  The  changes  next  in  importance  consisted  in  the  presentation  of  more 
complete  data,  maps,  and  diagrams  for  the  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  the  satellites  of 
the  planets.  The  changes  were  so  adjusted  that  the  size  and  cost  of  the  work 
should  not  be  materially  altered.  They  commence  with  the  Ephemeris  of  1882, 
now  in  press." 

In  the  preface  to  the  Nautical  Almanac  for  the  year  1882  we 
find  the  changes  adopted  mentioned  in  the  following  specific 
terms : n7 

"  The  contents  of  the  present  volume  of  the  American  Ephemeris,  though  sub- 
stantially unchanged  in  their  general  character,  have,  in  some  parts,  undergone 
material  alterations  in  their  form  and  arrangement." 

************ 

"  PART  I,  Ephemeris  for  the  Meridian  of  Greenwich  ....  The  principal 
change  made  in  it  has  been  the  transfer  of  the  sun's  co-ordinates  and  of  the  geo- 
centric ephemerides  of  Mercury,  Uranus,  and  Neptune  from  Part  II,  and  the 
addition  of  accurate  heliocentric  positions  of  all  the  planets. 

"  PART  II,  Ephemeris  for  the  Meridian  of  Washington  ....  The  list  of 
mean  places  of  fixed  stars  has  been  greatly  enlarged,  for  the  convenience  of  field- 
astronomers. 

"  PART  III,  Phenomena  ....  The  additions  comprise  more  complete  data 
for  eclipses  of  the  sun,  diagrams  showing  the  configurations  of  the  satellites  of 
Jupiter,  data  respecting  the  disks  of  Mercury  and  Venus  for  the  reduction  of 
meridian  and  photometric  observations,  and  diagrams,  with  tables,  for  identifying 
any  known  satellites  of  other  planets. 

"  SIMON  NEWCOMB, 

"  Professor  U.  S:  Navy,  Superintendent. 
"  WASHINGTON, 

"  September  3,  1879." 

COMMITTEE   ON  A  PLAN   FOR  SURVEYING  AND   MAPPING 
THE  TERRITORIES    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES.     1878 

In  the  decade  following  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  the  re- 
curring discussion  of  the  relative  merits  of  military  and  civil 
control  of  public  enterprises  centered  around  the  management  of 
the  surveys  of  the  public  domain.  We  learn  that  as  early  as 
1869,  at  the  meeting  of  the  National  Academy,  "one  of  the 
most  eminent  geologists  and  geographers  in  the  country  made  a 

w  American  Ephemeris  and  Nautical  Almanac  for  1882,  ist  ed.,  1879.    Preface,  p.  Hi. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          269 

sharp  attack  upon  the  system  of  army  explorations  and  its  fruits ; 
and  he  was  met  by  the  military  members  of  the  Academy  with 
the  plea  that  army  officers  had  done  all  that,  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  considering  their  education  to  another  business, 
could  fairly  be  expected  of  them,  and  that  for  this  they  deserved 
gratitude  rather  than  blame."  98 

By  1874  *he  discussion  as  regards  the  surveys  had  become 
more  animated  and  more  widespread.  It  intruded  itself  upon 
the  attention  of  Congress  and  found  its  way  into  the  columns  of 
various  magazines  and  reviews.  At  this  time  there  were  in 
existence  six  distinct  surveys  or  systems  of  surveys  of  western 
portions  of  the  United  States.  The  United  States  Geological 
Exploration  of  the  Fortieth  Parallel,  nominally  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Engineer  Corps  of  the  Army,  but  conducted  by  a 
civilian,  Clarence  King;  the  United  States  Geological  and 
Geographical  Survey  of  the  Territories  under  the  direction  of 
the  Department  of  the  Interior  and  conducted  by  Dr.  F.  V.  Hay- 
den;  the  Geographical  and  Geological  Explorations  and  Sur- 
veys West  of  the  One  Hunderdth  Meridian,  commonly  called 
"  Wheeler's  Survey,"  under  the  Engineer  Corps  of  the  Army 
and  conducted  by  Lieut.  Wheeler;  the  U.  S.  Geographical  and 
Geological  Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  under  the 
Department  of  the  Interior  and  conducted  by  Major  J.  W. 
Powell;  the  land-parcelling  survey  carried  on  by  the  General 
Land  Office  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior;  and  finally,  the 
U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  under  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment. 

These  various  surveys  differed  in  their  history,  their  objects, 
and  their  methods.  Their  work  was  not  coordinated  and  to  a 
certain  extent  the  territories  in  which  they  operated  overlapped. 
Referring  to  the  rivalry  between  civil  and  military  directors 
of  these  surveys  the  Nation,  in  the  article  from  which  quotation 
has  already  been  made,  remarked  in  1874: 

"  It  appears  that  the  War  Department  looks  with  something  of  jealousy — a 
natural  jealousy,  perhaps,  at  which  we  ought  not  to  be  surprised — at  this  inter- 
ference of  civilians  with  what  had  once  been  its  exclusive  province ;  and  its  dis- 

08  The  Nation,  May  21,  1874,  p.  328. 
19 


270  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

satisfaction,  long  expressed  freely  in  private,  has  now  taken  shape  in  a  demand 
brought  recently  before  Congress  and  strongly  urged,  that  all  national  scientific 
surveys  be  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Engineering  Bureau  of  that  Depart- 
ment and  directed  by  army  officers.  It  is  in  view  of  this  demand  that  we  have 
undertaken  a  general  review  of  the  merits  of  the  case,  if  perchance  we  may  con- 
tribute something  toward  its  settlement.  To  the  educated  science  of  the  country, 
the  movement  seems  a  most  unreasonable  one.  The  feeling  and  opinion  of 
scientific  naen  are,  we  venture  to  say,  well-nigh  or  altogether  unanimous  against  it. 
A  strong  remonstrance  has  been  sent  to  Washington  from  some  of  the  leading 
educational  institutions — Yale,  Harvard,  and  others — signed  by  all  their  scientific 
professors;  and  more  and  stronger  will  be  likely  to  follow,  if  there  shall  seem  to 
be  any  danger  that  so  invidious  a  selection  of  the  graduates  of  one  school,  and  that 
a  military  one,  to  take  charge  of  the  public  scientific  interests  of  the  country, 
will  be  decreed  by  Congress."  " 

The  subject  was  discussed  in  the  first  session  of  the  43d  Con- 
gress (1874)  but  led  to  no  immediate  results.  The  House  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Lands  in  their  report  on  the  resolution  of 
April  15,  1874,  inquiring  whether  it  was  not  practicable  to  con- 
solidate the  surveys  under  one  department,  remarked  as  follows : 

"  The  committee  believe  that  at  present  it  would  not  be  of  public  benefit  to 
place  the  whole  of  the  surveys  under  one  Department. 

"  The  time  is  approaching,  however,  when  it  may  be  proper  so  to  consolidate 
them,  with  a  view  to  the  making  of  a  grand  geographical,  geological,  and  topo- 
graphical map  of  the  Territories  worthy  of  the  nation  because  of  its  accuracy  and 
minuteness  of  detail;  and  the  committee  believe  that  they  would  be  conducted 
most  to  the  public  interest  by  being  placed  under  the  control  and  guidance  of 
the  Interior  Department 

"  In  thus  keeping  separate,  for  the  present,  the  surveys  now  making  under  the 
War  and  Interior  Departments,  a  generous  rivalry  will  be  maintained  among  the 
good  men  therein,  and  a  stimulus  will  be  given  to  each  to  do  the  best  work 
possible,  and  a  resulting  benefit  will  ensue  in  more  accurate  surveys  and  more 
extensive  and  valuable  maps  and  reports 

"  The  conclusions,  therefore,  to  which  the  committee  have  come  are,  that  the 
surveys  under  the  War  Department,  so  far  as  the  same  are  necessary  for  military 
purposes,  should  be  continued ;  that  all  other  surveys  for  geographical,  geological, 
topographic,  and  scientific  purposes  should  be  continued  under  the  direction  of 
the  Department  of  the  Interior,  and  that  suitable  appropriations  should  be  made 
by  Congress  to  accomplish  these  results."  10° 

*  Loc.  cit.,  p.  328. 

100  House  Report  no.  612,  4sd  Congress,  ist  Session,  1874,  pp.  16-18. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          271 

Professor  J.  D.  Whitney,  in  an  article  in  the  North  American 
Review,  remarked: 

"  The  matter  has  already  been  up  before  a  committee  of  Congress,  and  a  very 
unpleasant  altercation  had  between  the  officers  and  employees  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment on  one  side  and  of  the  Interior  on  the  other No  good  has  been 

accomplished  by  the  Congressional  investigation ;  the  work  is  still  going  on  exactly 
as  before.  Instead  of  a  careful  and  systematic  consolidation  of  all  the  United 
States  geographical  and  geological  work  in  the  Far  West,  under  one  supervision, 
in  one  department,  there  is  just  that  method  employed  which  leads  to  bad  results 
and  great  waste  of  money.  Congress  is  at  this  moment  paying  to  have  the  same 
work  done,  on  the  same  ground,  by  two,  if  not  three,  different  parties,  and  in  two 

different  departments Liberal  appropriations  were  made  for  both  classes 

[military  and  civil]  by  Congress,  this  year  as  well  as  the  last,  and  how  long  this 
condition  of  things  will  be  allowed  to  contiue  no  one  can  foresee."  101 

The  criticisms  of  the  various  surveys  contained  in  the  article 
just  quoted  were  not  acceptable  to  the  War  Department,  Gen- 
eral Comstock,  the  director  of  the  survey  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
claiming  that  since  the  question  of  cost  had  not  been  considered 
they  were  "  worthless  and  misleading."  102 

The  matter  remained  in  controversy  for  some  three  years 
longer.  "Finally,  in  1878,  the  Appropriations  Committee  of  the 
House  announced  its  determination  not  to  recommend  further 
appropriations  for  the  surveys  until  some  plan  of  consolidation 
had  been  determined  upon.  On  March  8,  1878,  a  demand  was 
made  on  the  War  Department  and  the  Department  of  the  Interior 
for  a  statement  as  to  the  cost  of  all  the  surveys  carried  on  by  those 
departments,  and  the  extent  to  which  their  fields  of  operation 
overlapped. 

The  Sundry  Civil  Act  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
i879,103  contained  the  following  provision: 

"  And  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  is  hereby  required,  at  their  next 
meeting,  to  take  into  consideration  the  methods  and  expenses  of  conducting  all 
surveys  of  a  scientific  character  under  the  War  or  Interior  Department  and  the 

101  J.    D.    Whitney.      Geographical    and    Geological    Surveys,    North    American    Re-view, 
vol.  121,  1875,  pp.  83-84.     See  also  House  Report  no.  612,  and  Senate  Report  no.  311,  43d 
Congress,  ist  Session;  and  House  Exec.  Doc.  no.  240,  4$d  Congress,  ist  Session. 

102  Sen.  Exec.  Doc.  no.  21,  45th  Congress,  3d  Session,  p.  10. 
lw  Approved  June  20,  1878. 


272  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

surveys  of  the  Land  Office,  and  to  report  to  Congress,  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be 
practicable,  a  plan  for  surveying  and  mapping  the  territories  of  the  United  States 
on  such  general  system  as  will,  in  their  judgment,  secure  the  best  results  at  the 
least  possible  cost;  and  also  to  recommend  to  Congress  a  suitable  plan  for  the 
publication  and  distribution  of  the  reports,  maps,  and  documents  and  other  results 
of  said  surveys." 

When  this  Act  was  approved  on  June  20,  1878,  the  President 
of  the  Academy  was  in  Europe.  Upon  his  return  in  August  and 
after  consulting  members  of  the  Council  and  others,  he  ap- 
pointed a  special  committee  to  consider  the  subject.  This  com- 
mittee, as  he  stated  in  his  annual  report,  consisted  of  "  Professor 
James  D.  Dana,  whose  long  experience  as  geologist  and  natur- 
alist of  the  Wilkes  Exploring  Expedition,  and  subsequent  res- 
idence in  Washington,  while  preparing  his  reports,  had  especi- 
ally fitted  him  to  advise  on  Government  work ;  Professor  William 
B.  Rogers,  the  Nestor  of  American  geology,  who  had  had  long 
and  varied  experience  with  geographical  and  geological  surveys ; 
Professor  J.  S.  Newberry,  the  State  Geologist  of  Ohio,  who 
had  spent  several  years  in  the  West  on  Government  exploring 
expeditions  under  the  War  Department;  Professor  W.  P.  Trow- 
bridge,  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  who,  while  a  member  of  the 
Corps  of  Engineers,  served  for  several  years  on  the  Coast  Sur- 
vey; Professor  Simon  Newcomb,  whose  knowledge  of  mathe- 
matics and  astronomy  rendered  his  advice  most  valuable;  and 
Professor  Alexander  Agassiz,  whose  experience  both  in  mining 
engineering  and  biology  made  him  a  fit  representative  of  those 
departments."  104  As  will  be  noted,  no  member  of  any  of  the 
Government  surveys  then  existing  was  included  in  the  com- 
mittee, the  President  holding  that  it  would  be  inappropriate  to 
designate  anyone  representing  those  organizations  whose  conten- 
tions were  reported  to  have  caused  Congress  to  consider  their 
reorganization.  This  led  to  a  protest  by  General  Humphreys, 
Chief  of  Engineers,  who  asserted  that  "  a  properly  constituted 
committee  should  have  had  among  its  members  those  officers  in 
the  Government  service  whose  duties  consisted  in  part  or  in 
whole  in  making  geodetic,  topographic,  or  other  scientific  sur- 

10*Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  151. 


HENRY   DRAPER   MEDAL 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          273 

veys  in  the  different  departments  of  the  government."  He 
considered  that  however  proficient  the  members  of  the  com- 
mittee might  be  in  their  several  professions,  with  one  exception, 
they  were  not  sufficiently  familiar  with  survey  work  to  form  an 
opinion  as  to  its  requirements. 

The  committee  deliberated  some  three  months,  inviting  and 
considering  the  views  of  the  directors  of  the  surveys  of  the 
territories,  the  Acting  Chief  of  Engineers  and  other  officers  of  the 
Army,  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  and  others 
interested.  We  learn  from  the  documents  which  accompany  the 
Academy's  report  that  the  War  Department  thought  that  its 
topographic  and  geodetic  surveys  should  be  continued  and  that 
they  might  advantageously  be  made  the  basis  of  the  land-par- 
celling surveys  of  the  General  Land  Office,  and  that  the  scale  and 
topography  of  its  maps  might  be  such  that  they  could  be  used  for 
plotting  the  geological  data  collected  by  the  geological  surveys. 
The  General  Land  Office  was  of  the  opinion  that  "  combining  a 
geological  and  geographical  survey  with  the  survey  of  the  public 
lands  might  be  most  beneficial  and  economical."  Dr.  Hayden, 
representing  the  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of  the 
Territories,  questioned  the  practicability  of  a  comprehensive 
plan  of  surveys  which  should  include  all  the  scientific  organiza- 
tions of  the  Government  engaged  in  such  work.  He  considered 
that  the  combination  of  the  geological  and  geographical  surveys 
with  the  land-parcelling  surveys  would  be  fatal  to  both,  and  that 
the  separation  of  topography  and  geology  would  be  unwise. 
Major  Powell  representing  the  Geographical  and  Geological 
Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  reiterated  the  opinion 
expressed  in  an  earlier  report,  that  such  surveys  "  should  be 
unified  and  a  common  system  adopted";  and  considered  that 
they  should  embrace  a  geographical  department,  including  "  all 
methods  of  mensuration  in  latitudes,  longitudes  and  altitudes, 
absolute  and  relative  " ;  and  a  geological  department,  including 
"  all  purely  scientific  subjects  relating  to  geological  structure 
and  distribution,  and  practical  subjects  relating  to  mining  and 

108  Sen.  Exec.  Doc.  no.  21,  45th  Congress,  3d  Session,  p.  3. 


274  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

agricultural  industries."  He  also  advanced  the  view  that  the 
land-parcelling  survey  should  be  part  of  the  same  organization. 
He  stated  that  the  transcontinental  triangulation  of  the  Coast 
Survey  and  the  barometric  observations  of  the  Signal  Service 
could  and  should  be  made  the  basis  of  further  work,  but  did 
not  indicate  how  this  was  to  be  done. 

On  November  6,  the  committee  submitted  a  unanimous  report 
to  the  Academy.  The  report  was  considered  at  a  special  meeting 
held  in  New  York  and  after  three  hours'  discussion  was  adopted 
with  but  a  single  dissenting  vote.108  The  President  of  the  Acad- 
emy thereupon  acquainted  the  principal  executive  officers  of  the 
Government  with  the  recommendations  contained  in  the  report, 
which  were  favorably  received  by  the  President,  the  General  of 
the  Army,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  and  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey.  The 
Chief  of  Engineers  of  the  Army  opposed  the  plan.  On  the  open- 
ing of  Congress  in  December  the  report  was  transmitted  to 
both  houses  and  by  them  ordered  printed. 

The  committee  in  this  report  confined  its  attention  to  six 
scientific  surveys  of  the  public  domain  which  were  then  in 
operation.  These  were  the  surveys  west  of  the  icoth  meridian, 
under  the  War  Department;  the  U.  S.  Geological  and  Geograph- 
ical Survey  of  the  Territories  and  the  U.  S.  Geographical 
and  Geological  Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  under 
the  Department  of  the  Interior;  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey,  under  the  Treasury  Department;  and  the  Land  Office 
Surveys,  under  the  Interior  Department.  It  pointed  out  that 
the  work  of  these  organizations  could  be  summed  up  under  two 
headings,  "  i.  Surveys  of  mensuration,  2.  Surveys  of  geology 
and  economic  resources  of  the  soil,"  and  its  recommendation  was 
that  they  be  recombined  to  form  three  distinct  organizations. 
These  were  to  be  as  follows :  "  ( i )  The  Coast  and  Interior  Sur- 
vey, whose  function  will  embrace  all  questions  of  position  and 
mensuration;  (2)  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  whose 
function  will  be  the  determination  of  all  questions  relating  to 

10*Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  p.  152. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          275 

the  geological  structure  and  national  resources  of  the  public 
domain;  (3)  the  Land  Office,  controlling  the  disposition  and  sale 
of  the  public  lands,  including  all  question  of  title  and  record. 
The  Land  Office  was  to  get  its  surveys  and  measurements  from 
the  Coast  and  Interior  Survey,  and  its  information  regarding 
the  value  and  classification  of  lands  from  the  Geological  Survey. 
The  latter  organization  was  to  call  on  the  Coast  and  Interior 
Survey  for  all  mensuration  data,  but  would  be  "  authorized  to 
execute  local  topographical  surveys  for  special  purposes."  All 
three  organizations  were  to  be  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

The  committee  also  recommended  that  a  commission  be 
formed  to  codify  the  laws  relating  to  the  survey  and  disposition 
of  public  lands  and  propose  a  classification  and  valuation  of 
them  and  a  system  of  surveys  for  land-parcelling.  Other  recom- 
mendations related  to  the  form  of  publications  and  the  disposi- 
tion of  collections  of  natural  history  and  other  specimens  made 
during  the  prosecution  of  the  surveys.107 

This  report,  as  already  mentioned,  was  transmitted  to  Con- 
gress in  December,  1878.  It  was  no  sooner  printed  than  the 
War  Department,  through  the  Secretary  of  War,  George  W. 
McCrary,  and  the  Chief  of  Engineers,  General  Humphreys, 
entered  a  protest  against  the  adoption  of  its  provisions.  Sec- 
retary McCrary  adopted  the  argument  made  before  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Academy  by  H.  G.  Wright,  Acting  Chief  of 
Engineers,  that  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  War  Department  had 
been  long  engaged  in  survey  work,  that  its  experience  in  such 
work  was  extensive  and  diversified,  that  it  had  devised  and 
perfected  instruments  and  methods  of  work,  and  that  it  main- 
tained an  effective  system  of  safeguarding  expenditures,  it  was 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  Government  that  the  work  should 
continue  under  its  direction.108 

General  Humphreys'  objections  to  the  Academy's  plan  were 
of  a  somewhat  different  character.  As  already  mentioned,  he 

10TFor  the  full  report,  see  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1878,  pp.  19-22.     House  Misc.  Doc. 
no.  7,  46th  Congress,  ist  Session. 

108  Sen.  Exec.  Doc.  no.  21,  45th  Congress,  3d  Session,  p.  z. 


276  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

first  asserted  that  the  committee  was  not  properly  constituted. 
He  then  pointed  out  that  the  committee  had  prescribed  no 
methods  of  work  and  had  made  no  estimate  of  expense,  and 
claimed  that  it  had  exceeded  its  functions  in  taking  the  work  of 
the  Coast  Survey  into  consideration.  He  argued  that  the  geo- 
detic work  of  that  organization  was  not  necessary  to  the  proper 
surveying  of  the  coasts  of  the  United  States  and  that  it  was  not 
as  well  equipped  as  the  War  Department  to  do  the  work  of 
mensuration  for  all  the  surveys,  as  proposed  in  the  Academy's 
plan,  and  that,  in  any  case,  the  War  Department  could  perform 
the  necessary  work  at  a  much  smaller  expense.  After  reviewing 
the  history  of  the  survey  of  the  Great  Lakes,  he  made  the  claim 
that  the  kind  of  land  survey  of  the  United  States  at  large  recom- 
mended by  the  Academy  was  unnecessarily  refined  and  would 
entail  enormous  expenses,  and,  by  a  very  full  comparison  of 
costs,  endeavored  to  show  that  if  really  demanded  by  Congress, 
it  would  be  carried  out  at  a  much  less  expense  by  the  War  De- 
partment than  by  the  Coast  Survey. 

General  Humphreys  appended  to  his  letter  a  communication 
from  General  Comstock,  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  survey  of 
the  Northern  and  Northwestern  lakes  and  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  Mississippi  rivers,  dated  October  25,  1875,  and  entitled 
"  Considerations  of  the  objects  and  methods  of  a  natural  topo- 
graphical survey,"  in  which  the  methods,  cost  and  uses  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  surveys  are  concisely  summarized.  General  Com- 
stock criticised  Professor  Whitney  for  omitting  the  question  of 
cost  from  his  review  of  the  surveys,  already  mentioned,  and 
remarks  that  on  this  account  "  his  conclusions  as  to  the  value  of 
the  results  derived  from  the  funds  supplied  are  worthless  or 
misleading." 

On  the  publication  of  General  Humphreys'  letter,  the  Super- 
intendent of  the  Coast  Survey,  C.  P.  Patterson,  addressed  a  com- 
munication on  January  18,  1879,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
suggesting  that  there  had  been  a  misapprehension  on  the  part  of 
the  former  relative  to  the  cost  of  the  Coast  Survey  work.  This 
was  transmitted  to  General  Humphreys,  who  thereupon  pre- 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          277 

pared  for  the  use  of  Congress  another  statement  in  which  the 
estimates  of  cost  per  square  mile  are  considerably  reduced.  In 
closing  he  remarked: 

"  To  take  this  work  from  an  organization  like  the  Engineer  Department, 
superior  to  all  officers  employed  on  its  surveys,  and  exercising  a  careiul  super- 
vision over  them,  and  adopt  the  plan  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  would, 
in  my  judgment,  be  in  opposition  to  economy,  and,  if  a  general  survey  should  be 
undertaken,  would  result  in  expenses  amounting  to  scores  of  millions  of 
dollars."  109 

As  a  reply  to  the  contentions  of  the  War  Department,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  on  February  7,  1879,  sent  to  the  House 
of  Representatives  a  letter  by  Major  J.  W.  Powell  on  the  cost 
of  the  various  government  surveys.110  This  document  is  in 
reality  a  defence  of  the  Academy's  plan.  It  enumerates  the 
different  kinds  of  surveys,  and  explains  their  objects,  gives  the 
cost  of  different  surveys  per  square  mile,  states  the  amount  of 
land  belonging  to  the  public  domain  which  is  unsurveyed  and  the 
cost  of  surveying  it,  shows  that  different  systems  of  geodesy  and 
topography  are  employed  by  the  several  existing  organizations, 
and  finally  gives  the  reasons  why  the  work  should  be  consoli- 
dated under  the  Interior  Department. 

In  regard  to  the  letters  cited  above,  Major  Powell's  closing 
paragraph  contains  this  reference  to  the  Academy's  report: 

"  The  wisdom  and  integrity  of  the  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  needs  no  other  vindication  than  that  contained  in  its  report  to  the  hon- 
orable body  that  finally  endorsed  it  and  transmitted  it  to  Congress.  The  report 
is  comprehensive  and  explicit,  and  embraces  both  an  administrative  plan  and  a 
scientific  system  for  the  conduct  of  surveys."  lxl 

The  report  had  already  been  commended  by  the  Nation,  which 
in  an  editorial  published  on  January  9,  1879,  after  describing 
the  conditions  existing  in  the  several  surveys  and  the  changes 
proposed  by  the  Academy,  remarked: 

"  No  opposition  prompted  by  good  motives  or  supported  by  solid  reasons  can 
be  offered  to  these  admirable  recommendations.  Any  objections  from  the 

108  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  no.  21,  part  2,  45th  Congress,  3d  Session,  p.  3.  "  Letter  from  the 
Secretary  of  War,  communicating  further  information  in  relation  to  a  survey  of  the  terri- 
tory west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  as  proposed  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences." 

110  House  Exec.  Doc.  no.  72,  45th  Congress,  3d  Session.     "  Cost  of  Geographical  Surveys." 

m  Op.  cit.,  p.  6. 


278  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Engineer  Corps  of  the  Army  will,  we  are  persuaded,  give  way  on  reflection  to 
considerations  of  the  public  good.  No  chief  of  the  civilian  surveys  will  be  likely 
to  declare  himself  indispensable,  and  his  pet  plan  the  embodiment  by  patent  right 
of  all  science."  112 

The  committee  on  Appropriations  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives incorporated  the  whole  plan  of  the  Academy  in  a 
bill  (House  Res.  6140)  which  was  duly  reported  to  Congress. 
When  the  matter  came  to  issue,  however,  the  portion  of  the  plan 
relating  to  the  establishment  of  a  single  geological  survey  under 
the  Department  of  the  Interior  and  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mission to  consider  the  codification  of  laws  relating  to  the  survey 
and  disposition  of  the  public  domain  and  other  matters  was 
approved,  while  that  providing  for  the  consolidation  of  all 
mensuration  work  under  the  Coast  Survey  was  not.  The  law, 
which  forms  part  of  the  Sundry  Civil  Act  for  the  fiscal  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1880,  which  was  approved  March  3,  1879,  is  as 
follows : 

"  For  the  salary  of  the  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey,  which  office  is  hereby 
established,  under  the  Interior  Department,  who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  six  thousand  dollars: 
Provided,  That  this  officer  shall  have  the  direction  of  the  Geological  Survey,  and 
the  classification  of  the  public  lands  and  examination  of  the  Geological  Structure, 
mineral  resources  and  products  of  the  national  domain And  the  Geo- 
logical and  Geographical  Survey  of  the  Territories,  and  the  Geographical  and 
Geological  Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  under  the  Department  of  the 
Interior,  and  the  Geographical  Surveys  West  of  the  One  Hundredth  Meridian, 
under  the  War  Department,  are  hereby  discontinued,  to  take  effect  on  the 
thirtieth  day  of  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-nine 

"  For  the  expenses  of  a  commission  on  the  codification  of  existing  laws  relating 
to  the  survey  and  disposition  of  the  public  domain,  and  for  other  purposes,  twenty 
thousand  dollars;  Provided,  That  the  Commission  shall  consist  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  the  General  Land  Office,  the  Director  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  and  three  civilians,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President."  .  .  .  .  11S 

112  The  Nation,  vol.  28,  p.  29,  January  9,  1879.    "The  proposed  reforms  in  our  land  and 
scientific  surveys"  (pp.  27-29). 

113  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  20,  p.  394,  45th  Congress,  3d  Session,  chap.  182,  1879.     See  remarks 
on  the  debate  in  Congress,  quoted  from  the  Philadelphia  Bulletin  in  Amer.  Nat.,  vol.  13, 
pp.  181-183. 

Clarence  King,  the  first  director,  was  nominated  by  the  President  about  March  24,  1879; 
was  confirmed  by  the  Senate  on  April  3,  1879,  and  took  the  oath  of  office  on  May  24. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          279 

Thus  the  earlier  geological  and  geographical  surveys  were 
put  out  of  existence  and  the  new  United  States  Geological  Sur- 
vey, recommended  by  the  Academy,  took  their  place.  A  pro- 
vision was,  however,  made  by  Congress  for  the  completion  of  the 
reports  of  the  former. 

Professor  Dana  remarked  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science 
in  December,  1879: 

"  The  failure  of  Congress  to  act  favorably  with  reference  to  the  establishment 
of  '  Mensuration  Surveys,'  recommended  in  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Academy,  is  thought  to  be  a  deferring  of  the  subject  for  the  time,  and  not  a 
rejection  of  the  scheme."  114 

This  opinion  has  not  been  confirmed  by  any  action  of  Con- 
gress up  to  the  present  time.  The  later  history  of  the  Geological 
Survey,  especially,  as  regards  the  extension  of  its  work  to  the 
States  is  one  of  much  interest,  but  cannot  be  considered  here.115 

COMMITTEES  ON  THE  RESTORATION  OF  THE  DECLARATION 

OF  INDEPENDENCE.     1880  AND  1903 

On  July  19,  1776,  Congress  passed  the  following  resolution: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Declaration  [of  Independence]  passed  on  the  4th  be  fairly 
engrossed  on  parchment  with  the  title  and  stile  [sic]  of  '  The  unanimous  declara- 
tion of  the  thirteen  united  states  [sic]  of  America '  &  that  the  same  when 
engrossed  be  signed  by  every  member  of  Congress."  116 

On  August  2  the  Journal  of  Congress  informs  us  "  The  Decla- 
ration of  independence  [sic]  being  engrossed  &  compared  at  the 
table  was  signed."  11T 

While  the  majority  of  members  signed  on  this  date,  the  signa- 
tures of  a  few  were  not  affixed  until  some  months  later. 

This  parchment  copy  of  the  Declaration  has  passed  through 
many  vicissitudes.  It  appears  to  have  been  in  Baltimore  when 
Congress  was  sitting  there  in  1777,  but  its  history  between  that 

114  Amer,  Journ.  Set.,  ser.  3,  vol.  18,  p.  494. 

115  Those  interested  should  consult  the  Amer.  Journ.  Sci.,  ser.  3,  vol.   18,   1879,  pp.  492- 
496;    vol.   19,    1880,   pp.   78-81.     Amer.  Naturalist,   vol.    13,    1879,    pp.   343-345,    535-536; 
vol.  14,  1880,  pp.  68-70. 

118  See  Hazelton,  J.  H.    The  Declaration  of  Independence — Its  History,  1906,  p.  208. 
117  Loc.  cit. 


280  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

date  and  1814  is  uncertain.  Hazelton  is  of  the  opinion  that  it 
was  transferred  to  Washington  in  1800  when  that  city  became 
the  seat  of  government.  In  1814,  during  the  war  with  the 
British,  it  appears  to  have  been  carried  into  Virginia  for  safety. 
In  1823,  a  copperplate  facsimile  was  made  by  order  of  John 
Quincy  Adams,  then  Secretary  of  State,  from  which  200  copies 
were  struck  off  and  distributed  in  accordance  with  a  resolution 
of  Congress.  In  a  letter  to  the  Senate  (which  received  it  on 
January  2,  1824)  Secretary  Adams  remarked: 

"  An  exact  facsimile,  engraved  in  copperplate,  has  been  made  by  direction  of 
this  department,  of  the  original  copy  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 

engrossed  on  parchment Two  hundred  copies  have  been  struck  off  from 

this  plate,  and  are  now  at  the  office  of  this  department,  subject  to  the  disposal  of 
Congress."  118 

From  1824  to  1840  the  Declaration  on  parchment  seems  to 
have  been  kept  at  the  Department  of  State,  but  in  1841  it  was 
transferred  to  the  new  building  of  the  Patent  Office.  Here  it 
remained  until  1877  when  it  was  returned  to  the  Department  of 
State  and  preserved  in  the  War,  State  and  Navy  building,  then 
just  completed.  It  has  remained  there  until  the  present  time. 

At  the  end  of  a  century  the  Government  and  the  people  awoke 
to  the  fact  that  the  precious  parchment  had  deteriorated  as  a 
result  of  the  vicissitudes  to  which  it  had  been  subjected,  and 
was  apparently  in  danger  of  destruction.  In  1880  Congress 
passed  an  Act  calling  on  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences  to  make  an  examination  of  it, 
with  a  view  to  determining  what  steps  should  be  taken  to  prevent 
its  further  deterioration,  or,  if  possible,  to  restore  it  to  its  original 
condition.  In  May  of  that  year  Carl  Schurz,  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  requested  that  a  committee  be  named  by  the  President 
of  the  Academy.  President  Wm.  B.  Rogers  thereupon  ap- 
pointed Wolcott  Gibbs,  J.  E.  Hilgard,  C.  F.  Chandler,  R.  E. 
Rogers  and  J.  Lawrence  Smith.  This  committee  submitted  a 
brief  report  on  January  18,  1881,  as  follows: 

118  Annals  of  Congress.     See  Hazelton,  op.  cit.,  p.  289. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          281 

"  PROFESSOR  WM.  B.  ROGERS, 

"  President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

"  SIR  :  The  Committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  to  which  was 
referred  the  question  of  the  restoration  of  the  faded  writing  of  the  original 
manuscript  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  respectfully  reports : 

"  That,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Committee,  it  is  not  expedient  to  attempt  to 
restore  the  manuscript  by  chemical  means,  partly  because  such  methods  of  restora- 
tion are  at  best  imperfect  and  uncertain  in  their  results,  and  partly  because  the 
Committee  believes  that  the  injury  to  the  document  in  question  is  due,  not  merely 
to  the  fading  of  the  ink  employed,  but  also  and  in  a  large  measure  to  the  fact  that 
press  copies  have  been  taken  from  the  original,  so  that  a  part  of  the  ink  has  been 
removed  from  the  parchment. 

"  The  Committee  is  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  it  will  be  best,  either  to  cover 
the  present  receptacle  of  the  manuscript  with  an  opaque  lid  or  to  remove  the 
manuscript  from  its  frame  and  place  it  in  a  portfolio,  where  it  may  be  protected 
from  the  action  of  light ;  and,  furthermore,  that  no  press  copies  of  any  part  of  it 
should  in  future  be  permitted."  119 

As  a  result  of  this  report  the  receptacle  containing  the  parch- 
ment was  provided  with  wooden  doors.  It  was  removed  from 
exhibition  in  1893,  sealed  between  glass  plates  and  placed  in  a 
steel  safe,  where  it  was  no  longer  exposed  to  light  and  was 
secure  from  careless  handling.  It  continued  thus  until  1903 
when  John  Hay,  Secretary  of  State,  entertaining  suspicions  that 
the  document  was  still  deteriorating,  requested  that  it  be  ex- 
amined again  by  a  committee  of  the  Academy.  Under  date  of 
April  14,  1903,  he  addressed  the  following  letter120  to  President 
Agassiz : 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

"  WASHINGTON,  April  14,  1903. 
"  ALEXANDER  AGASSIZ,  ESQ., 

"  President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

"  SIR:  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section  3  of  the  act  of  incorporating 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  I  desire  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  to  the  condition  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  to 
suggest  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  examine  it  in  the  library  of  this  Depart- 
ment, and  that  such  recommendations  as  may  seem  practicable  be  made  to  me 
touching  its  preservation.  It  is  now  kept  out  of  the  light,  sealed  between  two 

u*Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  180,  181. 
""Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1903,  p.  13. 


282  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

sheets  of  glass,  presumably  proof  against  air,  and  locked  in  a  steel  safe.  I  am 
unable  to  say,  however,  that,  in  spite  of  these  precautions,  observed  for  the  past  ten 
years,  the  text  is  not  continuing  to  fade  and  the  parchment  to  wrinkle  and  perhaps 
to  break. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"JOHN  HAY." 

The  President  thereupon  appointed  C.  F.  Chandler,  J.  S. 
Billings  and  Ira  Remsen  to  consider  the  question  a  second  time. 
The  report  of  this  committee  121  is  of  such  general  interest  that 
it  seems  desirable  to  quote  it  in  full,  together  with  the  letter  of 
acknowledgment  written  by  the  Secretary  of  State  upon  its 
receipt. 

"  NEW  YORK,  April  24,  1903. 
"  HON.  JOHN  HAY,  Secretary  of  State. 

"  DEAR  SIR:  In  response  to  a  communication  received  from  you,  a  committee 
was  appointed  by  President  Agassiz,  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  to  con- 
fer with  you  with  regard  to  the  present  condition  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, and  to  make  such  recommendations  as  should  seem  desirable  to  insure  the 
preservation  of  this  precious  instrument.  The  committee  was  also  requested  to 
send  their  report  to  you  directly,  in  order  to  avoid  the  delay  which  might  result 
from  reporting  in  the  usual  manner  to  the  officers  of  the  Academy.  The  members 
of  the  committee  are  John  S.  Billings,  Ira  Remsen,  and  Charles  F.  Chandler. 

"  After  conferring  with  you,  the  committee  was  given  an  opportunity  to  make  a 
careful  examination  of  the  instrument,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  A.  H.  Allen, 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Wilbur 
M.  Grey,  of  the  Army  Medical  Museum. 

"  The  instrument  has  suffered  very  seriously  from  the  very  harsh  treatment  to 
which  it  was  exposed  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  Republic.  Folding  and  rolling 
have  creased  and  broken  the  parchment.  The  wet  press-copying  operation,  to 
which  it  was  exposed  about  1820,  for  the  purpose  of  producing  a  facsimile  copy, 
removed  a  large  portion  of  the  ink.  Subsequent  exposure  to  the  action  of  light  for 
more  than  thirty  years,  while  the  instrument  was  placed  on  exhibition,  has  resulted 
in  the  fading  of  the  ink,  particularly  in  the  signatures.  The  present  method  of 
caring  for  the  instrument  seems  to  be  the  best  that  can  be  suggested. 

121  This  report  was  reprinted  by  the  Department  of  State  in  the  form  of  a  circular,  and  the 
following  remarks  were  added  to  it: 

"  The  Secretary  of  State  has  directed  that  the  recommendations  of  the  committee  as  set 
forth  in  the  foregoing  report  be  observed.  The  Department  of  State  has  no  copies  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  any  form  for  distribution." 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          283 

"  The  committee  is  pleased  to  find  that  no  evidence  of  mold  or  other  disinte- 
grating agents  can  be  discovered  upon  the  parchment  by  careful  microscopic 
examination,  nor  any  evidence  that  disintegration  is  now  in  progress. 

"  The  investigation  has  been  facilitated  by  the  photograph  that  was  taken  in 
1883,  two  years  after  the  previous  examination  by  a  committee  of  the  Academy, 
and  we  would  suggest  the  desirability  of  taking  another  photograph  of  about  the 
same  size,  at  the  present  time,  and  from  time  to  time  in  the  future,  as  an  aid  to 
future  investigation. 

"  The  committee  does  not  consider  it  wise  to  apply  any  chemicals  with  a  view  to 
restoring  the  original  color  of  the  ink,  because  such  application  could  be  but  par- 
tially successful,  as  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  original  ink  was  removed 
in  making  the  copy  about  1820,  and  also  because  such  application  might  result  in 
serious  discoloration  of  the  parchment;  nor  does  the  committee  consider  it 
necessary  or  advisable  to  apply  any  solution,  such  as  collodion,  paraffin,  etc.,  with 
a  view  to  strengthening  the  parchment  or  making  it  moisture  proof. 

"  The  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  present  method  of  protecting  the 
instrument  should  be  continued;  that  it  should  be  kept  in  the  dark,  and  as  dry 
as  possible,  and  never  placed  on  exhibition. 

"  Very  respectfully,  yours, 

"  CHARLES  F.  CHANDLER, 

"  Chairman  of  the  Committee"  122 

Secretary  Hay  replied  to  this  letter  as  follows : 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

"WASHINGTON,  April  27,  1903. 
"  PROF.  C.  F.  CHANDLER, 

"  Chairman  Committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences 

to  examine  the  present  condition  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

"  SIR  :  I  have  received  your  letter  of  April  24  instant,  conveying  the  report  of 
the  committee  appointed  by  President  Agassiz  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  to  confer  with  me  respecting  the  present  condition  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  I  beg  you  to  accept  for  yourself  and  your  colleagues  of  the 
committee — President  Remsen,  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University,  and  Dr.  Bil- 
lings, of  the  New  York  Public  Library — my  thanks  for  the  promptness  and  thor- 
oughness of  the  examination  made  by  the  committee,  among  the  results  of  which  is 
the  gratifying  assurance  that  no  evidence  of  mold  or  other  disintegrating  agents 
were  discovered  upon  the  parchment  under  the  microscope.  I  am  gratified  also  to 
learn  that  the  present  method  of  caring  for  the  instrument  meets  the  concurrence 
of  the  committee. 

"  The  suggestions  and  recommendations  made  by  yourself  and  your  colleagues 
will  be  attentively  observed  by  the  Department,  and  I  have  already  caused  your 

122  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1903,  pp.  13-15. 


284  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

advice  to  be  followed  by  securing  a  photograph  for  comparison  with  that  of  1883, 
and  with  others  to  be  taken  hereafter,  from  time  to  time,  as  aids  to  future 
investigations. 

"  The  conclusions  of  the  committee,  that  the  application  of  any  chemicals  with 
the  view  of  restoring  the  original  color  of  the  ink  would  be  unwise,  and  that  the 
application  of  any  solution,  such  as  collodion,  paraffin,  etc.,  is  neither  necessary 
nor  advisable  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening  the  parchment  or  making  it 
moisture  proof,  are  welcome  as  avoiding  experimental  treatment  of  a  document  so 
precious  and  historic. 

"  Again  thanking  the  committee  for  their  attention  and  care, 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  JOHN  HAY."  123 

It  appears  from  the  foregoing  correspondence  that  the  second 
committee  agreed  with  the  first  as  to  the  principal  causes  of  the 
deterioration  observable  in  the  document  and  as  to  the  best  means 
of  preventing  further  damage.  The  press  copying  mentioned 
is  no  doubt  that  which  took  place  when  the  copperplate  fac- 
simile was  made  by  direction  of  John  Quincy  Adams  in  1824. 
It  will  be  observed  that  a  photograph  of  the  document  was  made 
in  1883  and  again  in  1903,  but  since  that  latter  date  no  more 
appear  to  have  been  taken.  The  safe  containing  it  has  been 
opened  but  once  during  the  last  decade,  namely,  in  May,  1911. 

COMMITTEE  ON  SORGHUM  SUGAR.     1881 

The  varieties  of  sorghum  which  are  available  as  sources  of 
sugar  have  been  cultivated  for  a  long  period  in  China  and 
Africa.  Seed  was  first  imported  into  the  United  States  from  the 
former  country  by  way  of  France,  and  from  Natal  about  the 
year  1855.  The  sorghum  plant  is  far  more  hardy  than  sugar- 
cane, and  was  successfully  cultivated  over  a  wide  area,  especially 
in  the  western  and  northwestern  parts  of  the  United  States. 
The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  caused  a  scarcity  of  sugar-cane 
throughout  the  country,  and  the  saccharine  products  of  sorghum 
were  greatly  in  demand  to  supply  the  deficiency.  These 
products,  however,  did  not  take  the  form  of  sugar,  but  of  syrup. 
In  1860,  nearly  7,000,000  gallons  of  sorghum  syrup  were  manu- 

123  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1903,  pp.  14,  15. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          285 

factored,  and  in  1870,  three  years  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the 
production  had  risen  to  16,000,000  gallons.  It  increased  from 
year  to  year  during  the  next  decade,  and  was  about  at  its  maxi- 
mum in  1880,  when  the  output  was  more  than  28,000,000  gallons. 

Although  beginning  as  early  as  1863  some  sorghum  sugar  was 
made  in  the  United  States  every  year,  it  was  not  until  near  the 
time  when  sorghum  syrup  production  was  at  its  height  that  the 
attention  of  the  Government  was  turned  toward  the  promotion 
of  the  manufacture  of  this  kind  of  sugar.  In  1878,  before  the 
agricultural  bureau  of  the  Government  had  developed  into  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  and  while  Dr.  Peter  Collier  was  the 
chemist  of  the  bureau,  experiments  were  commenced  under  his 
direction  which  were  intended  to  test  the  possibility  of  producing 
sugar  from  sorghum  on  a  large  scale  and  at  a  low  cost.  The 
investigation  was  entered  upon  with  great  enthusiasm  and  be- 
came a  matter  of  wide  interest  throughout  the  country.  Farmers 
and  manufacturers  cooperated  with  the  Government  in  pro- 
moting the  undertaking  and  large  amounts  of  capital  were  in- 
vested in  machinery  and  appliances  for  the  conversion  of 
sorghum  juices  into  sugar.  The  press  of  the  country  kept  the 
subject  prominently  before  the  people  and  it  was  for  some  years 
a  common  topic  of  conversation. 

The  experiments  of  the  Government  were  carried  on  for  three 
or  four  years,  but  resulted  unfavorably.  The  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture  remarked  that  "  the  business  of  manufacturing 
sugar  from  sorghum  at  the  department  failed  in  1881,  having 
furnished  discouragement  rather  than  information  to  those  en- 
gaged in  it."  The  same  year  Dr.  Collier,  at  the  invitation  of  the 
Academy,  read  a  paper  at  its  November  session  in  Philadelphia 
on  "  Facts  regarding  Sorghum,  and  some  conclusions  as  to  its 
value  as  a  source  of  sugar."  Professor  Silliman,  who  had  intro- 
duced Dr.  Collier,  then  presented  the  following  resolution 
which  was  approved  by  the  Council : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  subject  of  sorghum  sugar,  the  experimental  results  on 
which,  obtained  during  the  three  or  four  years  last  past  by  Dr.  Peter  Collier,  of  the 
Agricultural  Department,  submitted  in  brief,  by  invitation,  to  the  academy  at 

20 


286  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

its  Philadelphia  session  in  November,  1881,  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  academy,  of 
sufficient  importance  to  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  chemists,  members  of  this 
academy,  with  the  request  that  they  give  Dr.  Collier's  results  and  methods  a 
careful  consideration,  and  report  at  their  early  convenience  the  conclusions  to 
which  they  come."  124 

The  President,  William  B.  Rogers,  appointed  as  the  com- 
mittee Benj.  Silliman,  Samuel  W.  Johnson,  Charles  F.  Chandler 
and  J.  Lawrence  Smith.  Not  long  after  the  session  closed,  the 
attention  of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  George  B.  Loring, 
was  called  by  the  President  to  the  fact  that  the  Academy  had  the 
sorghum  experiments  under  consideration,  and  Mr.  Loring 
thereupon  transmitted  certain  documents  for  the  use  of  the  com- 
mittee, with  the  remark  that  "  if  this  reference  involves  a  scien- 
tific investigation  of  the  sorghum  question  he  will  be  greatly 
obliged  for  the  report."  At  the  same  time,  the  committee  was 
enlarged  by  the  appointment  of  Wm.  H.  Brewer,  C.  A.  Goess- 
man  and  Gideon  E.  Moore  as  additional  members.  The  last 
two  were  not  members  of  the  Academy. 

At  the  April  session  of  the  succeeding  year,  1882,  an  abstract 
of  the  report  of  the  committee  was  read  before  the  Academy, 
and  the  first  draft  of  the  report  itself  was  also  submitted.  The 
complete  report  was  transmitted  to  the  Commissioner  of  Agri- 
culture in  the  following  November.  Mr.  Loring  refers  to  the 
document  in  his  report  for  1882  in  the  following  terms : 

"  At  the  request  of  the  chemist  of  the  department,  I  submitted  the  sorghum 
analyses  and  work  of  his  division  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  on  the 
3Oth  of  January  last  for  investigation  by  that  body.  A  committee  appointed  for 
that  purpose  entered  upon  their  work  with  great  zeal  and  energy,  and  their 
report,  which  was  laid  before  me,  was,  on  July  21,  withdrawn  formally  by 
the  secretary  of  the  academy  '  for  such  action  as  the  academy  may  deem  neces- 
sary.' On  the  1 5th  of  November  current,  the  president  of  the  academy  presented 
to  me  the  final  report  of  that  institution,  a  long  and  elaborate  document,  contain- 
ing a  review  of  the  history  of  the  sorghum  industry  for  twenty-five  years,  a  state- 
ment of  the  scientific  investigations  made  in  this  country  and  in  Europe  into  the 
quality  of  sorghum  and  maize  as  sugar  producing  plants,  a  careful  examination  of 

134  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1881,  p.  19.  This  paper  will  be  found  on  pages  64  and  65  of 
the  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Academy  on  sorghum.  For  the  full  title  of  the  latter 
see  the  footnote  on  page  287. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          287 

the  chemical  work  of  the  department,  a  large  volume  of  testimony  received  from 
sugar  manufacturers,  and  certain  suggestions  with  regard  to  future  investigations 
and  the  work  of  the  department.  The  report  is  evidently  the  result  of  infinite  care, 
and  has  been  subjected  to  careful  revision,  and  I  trust  it  will  be  found  a  valuable 
text-book  for  those  engaged  in  the  sorghum  sugar  industry.  As  a  review  of  the 
successes  and  failures  which  have  attended  this  industry,  it  is  invaluable.  As  a 
guide  to  those  who  are  engaged  in  it,  it  contains  all  the  important  results  that 
have  thus  far  been  obtained  by  the  chemist  in  his  laboratory  and  the  manufacturer 
in  his  mill.  This  report,  together  with  a  most  voluminous  appendix,  making  an 
interesting  mass  of  matter  far  too  large  to  be  inclosed  in  the  annual  volume  of  the 
department  for  this  year,  will  be  issued  at  an  early  day  as  a  special  publica- 
tion." 125 

Although  it  appears  to  have  been  the  intention  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  to  publish  the  report,  it  was  not  issued  as  a 
departmental  document.  On  July  6,  1882,  the  Senate  adopted 
a  resolution  calling  on  the  Commissioner  to  transmit  it  to  Con- 
gress for  the  use  of  that  body,  and  it  was  published  as  Senate 
Miscellaneous  Document  no.  51,  47th  Congress,  2d  session.126  It 
did  not  leave  the  hands  of  the  Commissioner  until  January  10, 
1883,  however,  and  was  not  published  until  June  of  that  year. 
It  was  the  most  voluminous  report  prepared  by  any  committee 
of  the  Academy  and  covered  152  printed  pages.127 

Though  conservative  in  their  attitude,  the  committee  speak  in 
favorable  terms  of  the  outlook  of  the  sorghum  sugar  industry, 
and  express  their  faith  in  its  future  development.  "  As  a  work 
of  national  importance,"  they  remark,  "  calculated  directly  to 
benefit  widely  separated  sections  of  the  country,  it  is  one  that 
has  been  wisely  undertaken  and  encouraged  by  the  Department 

125  Rep.  Comm.  Agric.,  1882,  p.  680. 

26  The  resolution  was  as  follows : 

Senate,  July  6,  1882.  "Mr.  Windom  submitted  the  following  resolution;  which  was 
considered  by  unanimous  consent  and  agreed  to:  Resolved,  That  the  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture  be  directed  to  furnish  for  the  use  of  the  Senate  a  copy  of  the  report  of  the 
Committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  upon  the  subject  of  sorghum  sugar," 
Congressional  Record,  vol.  13,  part  6,  p.  5669,  47th  Congress,  ist  Session. 

127  Forty-seventh  Congress,  2d  Session,  Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  51.  National  Academy  of 
Sciences.  Investigation  of  the  Scientific  and  Economic  relations  of  the  Sorghum  sugar 
Industry,  being  a  report  made  in  response  to  a  request  from  the  Hon.  George  B.  Loring, 
U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  by  a  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 
November,  1882.  Washington:  Government  Printing  Office.  1883.  8°.  Pp.  1-152. 


288  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

of  Agriculture,  and  is  deserving  of  every  aid  that  Congress  may 
be  willing  to  grant  for  its  encouragement  and  prosecution." 
(p.  24.)  Again: 

"  The  spirit  of  scientific  investigation  which  has  led  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture through  its  chemical  and  agronomic  researches  to  results  of  such  impor- 
tance towards  developing  a  new  industry  of  national  value  has  been  liberally  fos- 
tered by  the  General  Government,  and  to  some  extent  also  by  certain  of  the  States. 
The  fruits  of  this  policy  are  already  beginning  to  show  themselves  in  the  decided 
success  which  has  attended  the  production  of  sugar  from  sorghum  on  a  commercial 
scale  in  the  few  cases  in  which  the  rules  of  good  practice,  evolved  especially  by 
the  researches  made  at  the  laboratory  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  have 
been  intelligently  followed.  Sufficiently  full  returns  from  the  crop  of  1882  have 
already  come  to  hand  to  convince  us  that  the  Industry  is  probably  destined  to  be 
a  commercial  success  "  (p.  53). 

The  expectations  of  the  committee,  though  doubtless  justified 
by  the  knowledge  available  at  the  time  at  which  they  were 
formed,  were  not  destined  to  be  fulfilled,  owing  to  a  combination 
of  circumstances  which  could  not  be  foreseen.  Congress  con- 
tinued to  appropriate  money  for  sorghum  investigations  for  a 
number  of  years  and  the  Department  of  Agriculture  carried  on 
experiments  with  great  industry  and  earnestness,  but  the  scope 
of  these  activities  gradually  narrowed  as  the  real  nature  of  the 
problem  began  to  be  perceived,  and  finally  in  1893,  they  were 
discontinued. 

In  the  same  year  in  which  the  committee  of  the  Academy 
reported  (1882)  the  actual  manufacture  of  sugar  at  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  was  found  unprofitable  and  was  abandoned. 
Attention  was  then  concentrated  on  increasing  the  sugar-content 
and  other  desirable  qualities  of  the  sorghum  plant  and  on  finding 
a  process  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar  at  a  low  cost.  It  was 
finally  determined  that  the  only  ready  methods  of  causing  the 
sugar  to  crystallize  in  large  quantities  and  of  freeing  it  from  the 
starch  and  gummy  substances  with  which  it  was  associated  in- 
volved the  use  of  large  quantities  of  alcohol.  The  high  tax  on  al- 
cohol made  its  use  prohibitive  and  the  industry  thus  encountered 
an  obstacle  which  it  has  never  been  able  to  surmount.  Although 


LAWRENCE   SMITH   MEDAL 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          289 

for  many  years  before  and  after  the  Government  entered  on  its 
investigations  a  million  or  more  pounds  of  sugar  were  manu- 
factured annually  in  the  United  States  from  sorghum,  the  in- 
dustry was  always  a  precarious  one,  and  quite  as  likely  to  entail 
a  loss  as  to  yield  a  profit.  At  the  critical  time  in  its  history  a 
number  of  circumstances  besides  the  difficulty  regarding  the 
use  of  alcohol  militated  against  its  development.  Among  these 
the  most  important  was  that  the  price  of  sugar  was  unusually 
low,  a  condition  brought  about  largely  by  the  growth  of  the  beet- 
sugar  industry  which  proved  remunerative  and  engrossed  the 
attention  of  agriculturists  in  those  very  sections  of  the  country  in 
which  it  was  expected  that  the  cultivation  of  sorghum  sugar 
would  prove  a  benefit.  In  1893  Congress  discontinued  appro- 
priations for  sorghum  investigations,  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture having  remarked  in  his  report  for  that  year: 

"  The  experiments  in  sorghum  sugar  may,  it  is  believed,  be  discontinued,  the 
results  of  experiments  already  made  leaving  apparently  nothing  more  for  the 
Federal  Government  to  undertake.  A  stage  is  now  reached  when  individual 
enterprise  can  and  should  take  advantage  of  what  the  Department  has  accom- 
plished." 128 

Thus  the  activities  of  the  Government  terminated  without 
producing  the  result  which  the  committee  of  the  Academy 
expected.  The  potentialities  of  sorghum  as  a  source  of  sugar  were 
demonstrated,  however,  and  the  time  may  yet  come  when  new 
agricultural  and  commercial  conditions  and  the  progress  of  inven- 
tion may  bring  it  into  actual  use  as  one  of  the  principal  sugar- 
producing  plants.  In  the  meantime,  the  money  and  thought 
expended  in  investigations  were  not  wasted,  as  sorghum  has 
proved  to  be  very  valuable  as  a  source  of  table  syrups  and  as  a 
fodder-plant  for  cattle.129 

128 Rep.  Seer.  Agric.  for  1893,  Nov.  20,  1893,  pp.  33,  34  (J.  Sterling  Morton,  Secretary). 
See  also  p.  189  of  the  same  report. 

129  See  H.  W.  Wiley.  The  relation  of  chemistry  to  the  progress  of  agriculture.  Yearbook 
U.  S.  Dep.  Agric.  for  1899,  pp.  242,  243. 


290  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

COMMITTEE  ON  QUESTIONS  OF  METEOROLOGICAL 
SCIENCE  AND   ITS  APPLICATIONS.     1881 

This  committee  was  appointed  in  1881  at  the  request  of  the 
Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the  Army.  The  Proceedings  of  the 
Academy  contain  the  following  information  regarding  it: 

"  A  communication  was  laid  before  the  Academy  from  General  William  B. 
Hazen,  Chief  Signal  Officer,  United  States  Army,  under  date  of  April  4,  1881, 
asking  that  a  permanent  committee  be  appointed  with  whom  the  Signal  Officer 
might  confer  from  time  to  time  as  to  the  best  means  of  advancing  the  science  of 
meteorology  and  its  applications  to  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  commerce. 

"  The  following-named  members  were  thereupon  appointed  by  the  President  a 
Committee  on  Meteorology  to  confer  and  co-operate  with  the  Chief  Signal  Officer : 
Mr.  Newcomb,  chairman,  and  Messrs.  Loomis,  Gibbs  (W.),  Newton  (H.  A.), 
Ferrel,  Schott,  and  Langley. 

"  Messrs.  Rood  and  Young  were  subsequently  added  to  the  Committee."  13° 

In  his  report  for  1881,  General  Hazen  comments  on  the 
appointment  of  the  committee  in  the  following  terms : 

"  The  weather  service  of  the  United  States  has  been  without  a  rival  in  the 
practical  advantages  derived  from  its  labors,  but  the  day  has  now  come  when  it 
should  take  the  stand  among  the  foremost,  in  the  scientific  study  and  investigation 
of  the  higher  branches  of  theoretical  meteorology,  and  it  is  upon  such  investiga- 
tions intelligently  pursued  that  the  hope  for  greater  benefits  must  mainly  rest. 
I  have  endeavored  to  bring  this  service  into  active  sympathy  and  co-operation  with 
the  ablest  scientific  intellects  of  the  country.  In  this  direction  and  in  response 
to  my  request,  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  has  appointed  an  advisory  com- 
mittee of  consulting  specialists  with  which  I  may  confer  as  occasion  demands.  I 
take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  this  courtesy  as  showing  the  establishment  of  more 
intimate  relations  between  the  scientific  interests  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Signal  Service."  1S1 

The  committee  appears  not  to  have  presented  any  formal  re- 
ports but  was  continued  until  1884,  when  it  was  discharged.  At 
this  time  the  Academy  had  been  requested  by  a  Joint  Commis- 
sion of  Congress  to  express  its  opinion  as  to  the  meteorological 
work  carried  on  under  the  Signal  Service. 

"°Proc.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.,  vol.  i,  pp.  181,  182. 

mRep.  Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the  Army,  p.  3  (1881)   (Wm.  B.  Hazen). 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          291 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  SEPARATION  OF  METHYL,  OR  WOOD 
SPIRITS,  FROM  ETHYL  ALCOHOL.     1882 

The  reasons  for  which  the  advice  of  the  Academy  was  desired 
on  this  subject  are  very  clearly  and  fully  stated  in  a  letter  which 
the  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue,  Green  B.  Raum,  ad- 
dressed to  the  President  on  April  12,  1882.  He  writes: 

"  There  is  now  pending  before  Congress  a  bill  (H.  R.  5082)  '  To  authorize  the 
withdrawal  from  distillery  warehouse,  without  tax,  of  alcohol  and  other  spirits 
to  be  used  in  industrial  pursuits,'  which  bill  provides  that  '  such  spirits  shall 
either  first  have  been  mixed  with  one-ninth  of  their  bulk  of  methyl,  or  wood 
alcohol,  of  equal  proof  strength,  or  that  such  spirits  shall  be  withdrawn  for  use 
in  tobacco  factories,  or  such  other  industrial  pursuits  as  shall  entail  their  complete 
destruction  so  that  they  cannot  be  recovered  by  any  process  of  distillation.' 

"  It  is  therefore  deemed  important  to  the  interests  of  the  revenue  that  a  careful 
and  thorough  investigation  be  made,  having  for  its  object  the  determination  of 
the  fact  whether  the  methyl,  or  wood  spirits  may  be  entirely,  or  approximately, 
separated  by  distillation,  or  in  any  other  economical  manner  from  the  ethyl  alco- 
hol, or  spirits  of  wine,  upon  which  the  tax  is  imposed. 

"  In  other  words,  the  information  sought  is  as  to  whether  the  science  of  chem- 
istry now  enables  the  possessor  of  the  methylated  spirits  to  separate  the  ethyl 
alcohol  from  such  mixture  in  such  a  state  of  purity,  and  at  such  a  probable  cost  as 
might  enable  the  holder  to  sell  it  in  the  market  at  a  less  price  than  those  persons 
who  withdraw  spirits  from  bond  upon  payment  of  the  tax  at  the  rate  of  ninety  cents 
per  proof  gallon. 

"  I  have  therefore  to  respectfully  request  that  a  committee  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  be  appointed  to  undertake  this  investigation,  and  to  inform 
this  office  of  the  result  at  the  earliest  moment  practicable. 

"  I  desire  particularly  to  be  advised  as  to  the  relative  vaporizing  point  of 
purified  wood-naphtha  as  compared  with  distilled  spirits  of  the  same  specific 
gravity,  and  such  other  information  on  the  subject  as  may  assist  this  Office  in  reach- 
ing a  conclusion  as  to  whether  or  not  the  bill  referred  to  would  be  liable  to  abuse 
if  it  should  become  a  law. 

"  I  have  to  ask  if  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the  academy  to  undertake  this  investiga- 
tion, and  if  so  to  be  informed  as  to  the  nature  and  quantity  of  alcohol,  wood- 
naphtha,  and  other  materials  which  will  be  needed  in  the  prosecution  of  this 
inquiry."  132 

The  Acting  President,  Prof.  O.  C.  Marsh,  appointed  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Ira  Remsen,  G.  F.  Barker  and  C.  F.  Chand- 
ler which  reported  on  September  18,  1882.  The  report  covered 

mRep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1883,  pp.  57,  58. 


292  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

various  aspects  of  the  question  at  issue.  It  began  by  pointing  out 
that  in  both  England  and  Germany  the  law  had  for  a  number 
of  years  permitted  the  use  of  methylated  spirits  in  the  arts,  and 
gave  a  resume  of  the  reports  of  the  committees  on  which  the 
legislation  was  based.  It  then  defined  the  several  liquids  known 
as  ethyl  alcohol,  methyl  alcohol,  crude  wood-naphtha,  and  refined 
wood-naphtha  or  wood  spirits,  and  described  a  number  of  experi- 
ments made  by  the  committee  with  mixtures  of  ethyl  alcohol 
and  refined  wood-naphtha.  The  committee  summed  up  its  report 
as  follows : 

"  The  final  conclusion  to  which  we  are  led  is  this:  That  by  treating  the  mixt- 
ures of  ethyl  alcohol  and  wood  spirits  (in  the  proportion  proposed  in  the  bill  now 
before  Congress)  with  bone-black,  filtering,  adding  a  caustic  alkali — as,  for 
example,  caustic  potash — and  then  distilling  with  the  aid  of  the  Hempel  tube,  the 
principal  product  obtained  is  nearly  free  from  methyl  alcohol,  and  that  the  odor 
and  taste  of  this  product  are  not  very  marked.  At  the  same  time,  even  in  the  best 
product  thus  obtained,  the  odor  and  taste  characteristic  of  wood-naphtha  can  be 
detected,  though  only  with  difficulty,  by  those  who  are  unskilled  in  such  matters. 
We  believe  that  the  method  employed  by  us  which  gave  the  best  product  could  be 
applied  economically  on  the  large  scale,  and  a  product  fully  as  good  as  our  best, 
if  not  better  than  it,  might  thus  be  obtained. 

"  As  regards  the  question  whether  the  product  obtained  could  be  used  for 
drinking  purposes,  that  is  difficult  for  the  committee  to  answer  satisfactorily.  We 
have  submitted  our  best  specimens  to  some  well-known  dealers  in  alcohol  and  alco- 
holic beverages,  and  we  learn  that  the  purified  product  might  easily  be  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  low-grade  whiskies  and  rum,  though  all  the  gentlemen  whom  we 
have  consulted  on  this  point  have  unhesitatingly  recognized  the  presence  of  the 
wood-naphtha  in  the  best  specimens. 

"  It  would  appear  from  this  that,  while  after  the  addition  of  the  wood-naphtha 
to  alcohol,  it  is  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  separate  the  two  perfectly 
and  thus  regenerate  the  pure  alcohol,  it  is  quite  possible  to  get  from  the  mixture 
a  product  which  might  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  alcoholic  beverages  of 
lower  order. 

"  It  is  plain  from  the  foregoing  that,  considering  our  experiments  as  final,  it  is 
impossible  to  purify  the  mixture  containing  wood-naphtha  to  a  sufficient  extent  to 
make  it  palatable  without  the  aid  of  distillation.  Hence,  apparently,  it  would 
be  as  difficult  to  carry  on  the  process  of  purification  on  the  large  scale  as  to  carry 
on  the  illegitimate  manufacture  of  alcohol.  This  fact,  in  itself,  might  be  a  suffi- 
cient protection  against  fraud,  though  the  committee  does  not  feel  competent  to 
express  a  decided  opinion  on  this  point."  133 

"*Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1883,  pp.  62,  63. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          293 

COMMITTEE  ON  GLUCOSE.     1882 

The  request  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  the 
Academy  on  the  vexed  question  of  glucose  was  received  from  the 
Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  a  few  days  after  the  request 
for  a  committee  on  methyl  alcohol.  In  a  letter  addressed  to 
President  Rogers,  dated  April  27,  1882,  the  Commissioner 
remarks : 

"  There  is  now  pending  before  Congress  a  bill  (H.  R.  3170)  '  to  tax  and  regu- 
late the  manufacture  and  sale  of  glucose,'  which  bill  proposes  to  so  amend  the 
internal-revenue  laws  as  to  impose  a  special  tax  upon  the  manufacturers  of,  and 
dealers  in,  glucose,  and  to  levy  a  tax  on  the  article  in  its  solid,  liquid,  and  semi- 
liquid  form. 

"  In  view  of  this,  I  have  respectfully  to  request  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
of  the  Academy  to  examine  as  to  the  composition,  nature,  and  properties  of  the 
article  commercially  known  as  glucose,  or  grape  sugar. 

"  This  office  desires  to  be  informed  as  to  the  saccharine  quality  of  this  product 
as  compared  with  cane  sugar  or  molasses,  and  also  especially  as  to  its  deleterious 
effects  when  used  as  an  article  of  food  or  drink,  or  as  a  constituent  element  of  such 
articles. 

"  Numerous  specimens  of  the  article  in  question  are  in  the  possession  of  this, 
office  which  will  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Academy. 

"  Any  expense  necessarily  incurred  in  conducting  this  inquiry  will  be  paid  upon 
the  presentation  of  a  properly  prepared  bill  for  that  purpose."  134 

In  accordance  with  the  request  contained  in  this  letter  the 
President,  Wm.  B.  Rogers,  appointed  the  following  committee 
to  consider  the  question  at  issue:  Ira  Remsen,  C.  F.  Chandler, 
G.  F.  Barker.  The  committee  reported  on  September  18,  1882. 

The  magnitude  of  the  starch-sugar  industry  in  the  United 
States  will  be  appreciated  from  the  consideration  of  some 
statistics  taken  from  the  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Academy 
and  from  other  sources.  In  1882  there  were  32  glucose  and 
starch-sugar  factories  in  the  country  with  an  estimated  capacity 
of  43,000  bushels  of  corn  a  day.  In  1884  there  were  29  factories 
capable  of  utilizing  40,000  bushels  a  day.  In  1902  the  factories 
had  been  reduced  by  combination  to  five  which,  however,  used 
175,000  bushels  of  corn  a  day.  The  combined  capital  of  four  of, 

114  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1883,  p.  66. 


294  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

these  companies  amounted  to  $80,000,000.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century  the  domestic  consumption  of  corn  syrup  and 
corn  sugar  amounted  to  1200  million  pounds  annually.  The 
exports  for  the  decade  1893-1903  amounted  to  more  than  1700 
million  pounds,  valued  at  $28,000,000. 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  one  of  the  most  extensive 
made  during  the  first  half  century  of  the  Academy  and  covered  77 
printed  pages.  It  contained,  besides  a  general  introduction,  a 
summary  of  the  history  of  the  starch-sugar  industry,  an  account 
of  the  several  varieties  of  glucose  and  starch-sugar,  and  of  their 
chemical  composition,  an  inquiry  into  the  healthfulness  of 
glucose  as  a  food,  analyses  of  commercial  samples  of  glucose  and 
starch-sugar  with  special  reference  to  adulteration,  and  a  list  of 
factories.  To  this  were  added  fourteen  pages  of  extracts  from 
literature  relating  to  starch-sugar,  a  bibliography  covering  28 
pages,  and  a  list  of  patents. 

The  results  of  the  work  of  the  committee  are  summarized  in 
eight  paragraphs  referring  to  the  following  subjects:  The  his- 
tory of  starch-sugar,  the  process  of  manufacture,  the  extent  of 
the  industry,  the  utilization  of  the  products,  the  relation  of 
starch-sugar  to  other  sugars,  the  organic  constitutents,  the  health- 
fulness  of  glucose  as  a  food. 

The  conclusions  were  as  follows : 

"  In  conclusion,  then,  the  following  facts  appear  as  the  result  of  the  present 
investigation:  1st.  That  the  manufacture  of  sugar  from  starch  is  a  long-estab- 
lished industry,  scientifically  valuable  and  commercially  important.  2d.  That  the 
processes  which  it  employs  at  the  present  time  are  unobjectionable  in  their  char- 
acter, and  leave  the  product  uncontaminated.  3d.  That  the  starch  sugar 
thus  made  and  sent  into  commerce  is  of  exceptional  purity  and  uniformity  of 
composition,  and  contains  no  injurious  substances.  And,  4th,  that  though  having 
at  best  only  about  three-fifths  the  sweetening  power  of  cane  sugar,  yet  starch 
sugar  is  in  no  way  inferior  to  cane  sugar  in  healthfulness,  there  being  no  evidence 
before  the  committee  that  maize  starch  sugar,  either  in  its  normal  condition  or 
fermented,  has  any  deleterious  effect  upon  the  system,  even  when  taken  in  large 
quantities."  135 

125  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1883,  p.  88. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          295 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  SIGNAL  SERVICE  OF  THE  ARMY,  THE 
GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY,  THE  COAST  AND  GEODETIC  SURVEY, 
AND  THE  HYDROGRAPHIC  OFFICE  OF  THE  NAVY  DEPART- 
MENT. 1884 

In  the  Sundry  Civil  Act  approved  July  7,  1884,  Congress 
directed  the  appointment  of  a  joint  commission  of  the  Senate 
and  House  to  consider  and  report  on  the  organization  of  the 
Signal  Service  of  the  Army,  the  Geological  Survey,  the  Coast 
and  Geodetic  Survey,  and  the  Hydrographic  Office  of  the  Navy 
Department  "  with  the  view  to  secure  greater  efficiency  and 
economy  of  administration  of  the  public  service  in  said  bureaus." 
It  would  appear  that  the  demand  for  this  inquiry  had  a  double 
origin.  In  Congress  and  in  the  country  generally  it  was  thought 
that  the  weather  service,  which  was  organized  under  the  Signal 
Service  of  the  Army,  would  be  improved  and  extended  if  it 
were  taken  out  from  under  the  control  of  the  War  Department 
and  placed  in  charge  of  civilians.  A  separate  inquiry  into  this 
matter  was  at  first  proposed,  but  subsequently  it  was  merged  with 
an  inquiry  into  the  relationships  of  the  several  national  surveys. 
Regarding  the  latter  the  Joint  Commission  remarked  in  its 
report: 

"  It  has  been  frequently  stated  in  the  course  of  debates  in  Congress  that  the 
several  scientific  Bureaus  named  were  engaged  in  unnecessary  work,  so  far  as  prac- 
tical results  were  concerned,  and  also  that  there  was  a  duplication  of  work,  two  or 
more  Bureaus  being  engaged  in  substantially  the  same  character  of  investigation 
and  in  the  execution  of  the  same  work.  It  was  claimed,  especially,  that  the 
Geological  Survey  and  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  were  duplicating  their 
work;  and  it  was  also  claimed  that  the  work  of  the  Coast  Survey  proper  could  be 
more  economically  performed  under  the  direction  of  the  Navy  Department  by  use 
of  the  force  and  the  organization  in  that  Department  known  as  the  Hydrographic 
Office,  and  that  that  work  should  be  transferred  from  the  Treasury  to  the 
Navy."  136 

As  originally  organized,  the  Joint  Commission  consisted  of 
Senators  Wm.  B.  Allison  (chairman),  Eugene  Hale,  and  Geo. 
H.  Pendleton,  and  Representatives  Robert  Lowry,  Hilary  A. 
Herbert  and  Theodore  Lyman  (secretary).  The  Commission 

1X8  House  Reports,  49th  Congress,  ist  Session,  Rep.  no.  2740,  pp.  1-2. 


296  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

was  unable  to  report  in  December,  1884,  as  the  law  demanded, 
and  the  time  was  extended  to  December,  1885,  "  or  as  soon  there- 
after as  may  be."  In  the  meanwhile  Senator  Pendleton  and 
Representative  Lyman  had  retired  from  Congress,  and  were 
replaced  on  the  Commission  by  Senator  John  T.  Morgan  and 
Representative  John  T.  Wait.  The  report  was  finally  submitted 
on  June  10,  i886.187  The  testimony  taken  before  the  Commission 
had  already  been  published.  It  forms  a  thick  volume  of  more 
than  a  thousand  pages.138 

Feeling  that  it  should  receive  the  advice  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Commission,  through  its  secretary, 
Hon.  Theodore  Lyman,  requested  that  a  committee  of  the 
Academy  be  appointed  to  consider  the  subject  in  question.  The 
committee  appointed  by  President  Marsh  consisted  of  M.  C. 
Meigs,  Wm.  H.  Brewer,  Cyrus  B.  Comstock,  S.  P.  Langley, 
Simon  Newcomb,  E.  C.  Pickering,  W.  P.  Trowbridge,  F.  A. 
Walker,  and  C.  A.  Young.  All  accepted  appointment,  but  sub- 
sequently Prof.  Newcomb  and  Gen.  Comstock  resigned  by  order 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  respec- 
tively. These  orders  were  issued  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not 
proper  for  the  two  members  who  were  active  officers  of  the  De- 
partments mentioned  to  be  concerned  in  giving  advice  to  Con- 
gress, which  might  result  in  action  which  would  embarrass  the 
heads  of  those  Departments  in  carrying  out  their  policies.189 

On  the  other  hand,  President  Marsh  held  that  the  Academy 
should  not  be  deprived  of  the  services  of  the  two  members  in 
formulating  advice  asked  for  by  the  legislative  branch  of  the 
Government.  He  declined,  therefore,  to  accept  their  resigna- 
tions, and  laid  the  matter  before  the  Academy.  The  Academy 
appears,  however,  to  have  taken  no  action  regarding  it. 

MT  House  Rep.  no.  2740,  49th  Congress,  ist  Session. 

138  Senate  Misc.  Doc.  no.  82,  49th  Congress,  ist  Session,  1886. 

189  This  view  did  not  affect  the  appointment  of  General  Meigs,  apparently  for  the  reason 
that  he  was  a  retired  officer.  He  was  requested  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  withdraw,  but 
upon  his  submitting  a  protest  the  matter  was  dropped. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          297 

The  questions  which  the  committee  was  requested  to  consider 
were  as  follows : 

"  First.  What  is  the  organization  of  the  government  surveys,  and  of  the 
signal  service,  in  the  chief  countries  of  Europe,  and  could  any  part  of  this  organi- 
zation be  advantageously  adopted  in  this  country? 

"  Secondly.  In  what  way  can  the  scientific  branches  above  referred  to  be  best 
co-ordinated  ? 

"  Thirdly.     What  changes  in,  or  additions  to,  these  branches  are  desirable  ?  "  14° 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  submitted  on  September  24, 
1884,  and  with  the  appendices,  covers  30  pages.  To  the  first 
inquiry  propounded  by  the  Joint  Commission  the  committee 
replied  that  in  its  opinion  the  efficiency  of  the  surveys  of  the 
United  States  would  not  be  increased  by  adopting  any  form  of 
organization  existing  in  Europe,  but  that  a  more  extended  use 
of  photography  and  zincography  might  prove  economical  in  the 
production  of  maps  and  charts.  It  then  called  attention  to  a 
previous  recommendation  of  the  Academy  that  the  Coast  Survey 
be  transferred  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior  and  that  its 
work  be  extended  to  include  topographic  land  surveys.  The 
committee  recommended  that  the  Weather  Bureau  be  separated 
from  the  Signal  Service  of  the  War  Department  and  placed  un- 
der the  control  of  a  scientific  commission.  No  immediate  change 
in  the  scope  of  the  Hydrographic  Office  was  recommended, 
but  it  was  suggested  that  when  the  original  survey  of  the  coast 
should  be  finished,  the  work  of  re-sounding,  re-examining,  etc., 
might  perhaps  be  advantageously  committed  to  the  Navy  De- 
partment. Having  given  attention  to  these  particulars,  the  com- 
mittee then  pronounced  its  conviction  that  a  proper  coordination 
of  the  scientific  work  of  the  Government  would  be  most  satis- 
factorily effected  by  the  establishment  of  a  Department  of 
Science.  It  was  proposed  that  this  Department  should  include 
the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  under  the  name  of  the  Coast  and 
Interior  Survey;  the  Geological  Survey,  unchanged;  a  Meteor- 
ological Bureau,  to  which  should  be  transferred  the  main  portion 
of  the  meteorological  work  of  the  Signal  Service;  and  a  physical 

"°Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1884,  p.  35. 


298  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

observatory,  "  to  investigate  the  laws  of  solar  and  terrestrial 
radiation  and  their  application  to  meteorology,  with  such  other 
investigations  in  exact  science  as  the  Government  might  assign 
to  it."  Attention  was  also  called  to  the  desirability  of  having 
in  this  department  a  bureau  of  standards,  which  might  include 
the  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures. 

Should  Congress  consider  it  inadvisable  to  establish  a  new 
Department  of  Science,  the  committee  suggested  that  all  the 
scientific  bureaus  be  assembled  under  some  one  of  the  Depart- 
ments then  existing.  In  case  either  action  was  taken,  the  Com- 
mittee recommended  that  a  permanent  scientific  commission  be 
created  to  direct  the  policy  of  the  several  bureaus,  this  com- 
mission to  consist  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of 
Science,  or  other  Department  to  which  the  bureaus  should  be 
assigned  (who  should  be  president  ex  officio),  the  President  of 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  "  two  civilians  of  high  scientific  reputation," 
an  officer  of  the  Engineer  Corps  of  the  Army,  a  professor  of 
mathematics  in  the  Navy,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey,  the  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey,  the 
head  of  the  meteorological  bureau. 

This  report  was  sent  to  the  Government  Commission  on 
October  16,  1884,  together  with  certain  letters  of  the  heads  of  the 
several  scientific  bureaus  concerned. 

The  more  comprehensive  recommendations  of  the  committee 
of  the  Academy  have  not  been  adopted  by  Congress  up  to  the 
present  time.  Neither  a  Department  of  Science  nor  a  general 
scientific  commission  has  been  established,  but  several  of  the 
changes  proposed  have  been  made.  The  meteorological  service, 
formerly  combined  with  the  Signal  Service  of  the  Army,  has 
become  a  separate  bureau  under  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture.141 A  Bureau  of  Standards  has  been  established  in  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  to  which  has  been  trans- 
ferred the  work  of  the  former  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures. 

'"The  Department  of  Agriculture  became  an  executive  department  on  February  9,  1889, 
and  the  Weather  Service  was  transferred  to  it  on  October  i,  1890. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          299 

An  Astrophysical  Observatory  has  been  organized  under  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  corresponding  to  the  observatory  pro- 
posed by  the  committee  of  the  Academy.  To  this  extent,  the 
views  of  the  committee  have  found  favor  with  Congress. 
Whether  the  larger  plans  will  eventually  be  adopted  time  alone 
will  reveal. 

The  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Academy  was  printed  in 
the  introduction  to  the  volume  of  testimony  given  before  the 
Joint  Commission.  Many  high  officials  were  called  upon  by 
the  Commission  to  express  their  views  or  to  make  statistical  or 
other  statements  relative  to  the  matter  under  investigation,  in- 
cluding the  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Army,  the  Secretaries  of 
War  and  of  the  Navy,  the  heads  of  the  several  scientific  bureaus 
concerned  and  many  subordinate  officers.  The  discussion  took 
a  wide  range  but  returned  repeatedly  to  the  recommendations  of 
the  committee  of  the  Academy  which  formed  the  text  for  many 
remarks. 

The  report  of  the  Joint  Commission  in  reality  comprises 
three  separate  reports.  Allison,  Hale  and  Lowry  agreed  as  to 
the  various  questions  at  issue,  and  Wait  also  sided  with  them, 
except  in  so  far  as  the  Signal  Service  was  concerned.  Morgan, 
Herbert  and  Wait  submitted  a  separate  series  of  recommenda- 
tions regarding  the  latter,  while  Herbert  and  Morgan  presented 
a  minority  report  relative  to  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  and 
the  Geological  Survey. 

The  conclusion  of  the  majority  of  the  Commission  regarding 
the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  was  as  follows: 

....  A  majority  of  the  commission  concur  with  the  view  expressed  by  the 
Academy  of  Sciences,  that  when  the  original  survey  shall  have  been  completed  it 
will  be  time  enough  to  raise  the  question  whether  or  not  the  hydrographic  work 
involved  in  these  resurveys  may  not  then  be  transferred  to  the  Navy  Department; 
but  until  that  time  the  undersigned  believe  that  question  should  not  be  seriously 

considered " 142 

"  There  is  nothing  in  the  testimony  to  indicate  that  the  work  now  performed  by 
the  Survey  can  be  more  efficiently  performed  if  transfer  is  made,  nor  is  it  shown 

10  House  Report  no.  2740,  49th  Congress,  ist  Session,  p.  6. 


300  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

that  the  Navy  can  more  economically  execute  the  work,  so  there  is  no  reason  either 
on  the  score  of  efficiency  or  economy  for  making  the  change.  It  is  suggested  that 
a  new  method  might  be  adopted,  which  would  result  in  a  considerable  saving  of 
expenditure,  but  the  commission  does  not  regard  itself  competent  to  decide  upon 
the  methods  to  be  adopted  in  a  survey  so  highly  scientific  in  its  character  and 
objects,  much  less  does  it  feel  competent  to  recommend  a  change  of  method  which 
has  received  the  sanction  of  the  scientists  of  our  country,  and  has  the  sanction  of 
more  than  two  generations  of  experience  and  criticism "  143 

Regarding  the  Weather  Service,  the  report  remarked: 

"  A  proposition  made  to  establish  a  weather  service  as  a  civilian  organization 
failed  in  the  commission,  three  of  the  commission  favoring  such  transfer,  and 
three  opposing  it.  Those  favoring  the  transfer  submit  separately  their  views  on 
the  subject,  which  are  appended  hereto "  "4 

The  conclusion  regarding  the  Hydrographic  Office  was  as 
follows : 

"  The  commission  unanimously  recommend  that  this  office  be  maintained  by 
appropriations  from  year  to  year  in  its  present  state  of  efficiency."  14B 

Concerning  the  suggestions  of  the  Academy  that  a  commission 
be  established  to  direct  the  work  of  the  scientific  bureaus,  or 
that  a  department  of  science  be  created,  the  report  remarks : 

11  ....  The  commission  considered  with  care  the  many  suggestions  respecting 
a  change  of  existing  law  looking  to  the  selection  of  a  supervisory  commission, 
which  should  from  time  to  time,  and  at  least  once  in  each  year,  consider  what  work 
should  properly  be  done  by  the  several  bureaus  under  examination,  and  supervise 
the  methods  of  executing  the  work  committed  to  them  severally.  They  regard 
this  as  impracticable  as  long  as  these  bureaus  are  distributed  as  now  among  several 
Departments  of  the  Government.  They  believe  it  wiser  to  leave  this  general  direc- 
tion and  control  to  each  head  of  Department  for  the  bureau  under  his  supervision. 
It  would  be  impracticable  to  give  such  Commission  power  to  overrule  the  head 
of  a  Department,  and  if  this  were  not  done  its  powers  would  only  be  advisory. 

"  Nor  is  the  Commission  prepared  to  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  scientific 
department  of  the  Government  to  take  charge  of  all  these  bureaus.  There  is  no 
such  duplication  of  work  or  necessary  connection  of  these  bureaus  with  each  other 
as  make  such  establishment  essential  to  their  efficiency,  as  in  cases  where  one 
bureau  finds  it  necessary  to  utilize  the  work  of  another,  a  request  for  information 
and  data  is  always  complied  with."  14e 

148  Op.  cit.,  p.  13. 
144  Op.  dt.,  p.  26. 

149  Op.  cit.,  p.  28. 

146  Op.  cit.,  pp.  53,  54. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          301 

Messrs.  Morgan,  Herbert  and  Wait,  reported  on  the  Weather 
Service  as  follows: ll7 

"  As  the  result  of  their  investigation  of  the  Signal  Service  Bureau,  the  under- 
signed respectfully  submit  to  Congress  the  following  bill,  and  recommend  its 
passage : 

"  '  A  bill  to  establish  a  Weather  Bureau  in  the  War  Department,  and  for  other 
purposes. 

' '  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  on  the  first  day  of  July,  eighteen 
hundred  and  eighty-six,  the  Signal  Service  Bureau  shall  be  abolished,  and  a  Bureau 
to  be  styled  the  Weather  Bureau  shall  be  established,  to  which  shall  be  transferred 
the  records  and  property  of  every  kind  now  in  charge  of  the  Signal  Service,  except 
arms  and  other  military  equipments  and  stores,  all  of  which  shall  be  turned  over  to 
the  proper  officers  of  the  Army. 

"  '  SEC.  2.  That  the  Weather  Bureau  shall  be  organized  as  a  civil  establish- 
ment to  promote  meteorological  investigations,  and  shall  be  under  the  direction 
of  the  Secretary  of  War.' 

"  JOHN  T.  MORGAN, 
"  HILARY  A.  HERBERT, 
"  JOHN  T.  WAIT." 

Regarding  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  Messrs.  Herbert 
and  Morgan  made  the  following  minority  report: 

"  The  undersigned  favor  the  transfer  of  the  Coast  Survey  proper  to  the  Hydro- 
graphic  Office  of  the  Navy  Department.  We  mean  to  include  not  only  the 
hydrography,  that  is,  soundings,  etc.,  now  done  by  naval  officers  under  the 
direction  of  the  civilian  head  of  the  Coast  Survey,  but  all  topography  upon 
nautical  charts,  including  such  triangulation  as  is  incident  thereto.  We  believe 
the  Navy  would  execute  this  work  more  economically  and  speedily,  and  therefore 
more  effectively,  than  it  is  now  being  done."  148 

"  So  far  as  a  further  survey  of  our  coast  is  concerned,  there  seems  to  be  a 
propriety  in  transferring  that  work  to  the  Navy  Department.  The  other  duties 
now  in  charge  of  this  establishment,  if  they  cannot  be  profitably  attached  to  some 
existing  Department  or  other  Bureau,  should  be  prosecuted  under  a  law  exactly 
defining  their  scope  and  purpose,  and  with  a  careful  discrimination  between  the 
scientific  inquiries  which  may  properly  be  assumed  by  the  Government  and  those 
which  should  be  undertaken  by  State  authority  or  by  individual  enterprise."  149 

147  Op.  dt.,  pp.  63-64. 

148  Op.  cit.,  p.  66. 

149  Report,  p.  80. 


302  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

COMMITTEE  ON  PHILOSOPHICAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC 
APPARATUS.     1884 

The  tariff  act  approved  March  3,  1883,  contained  the  expres- 
sion "  philosophical  and  scientific  apparatus,  instruments,  and 
preparations,"  and  upon  the  claim  being  put  forward  by  some 
importers  that  certain  articles  which  they  wished  to  bring  in  were 
"  philosophical  "  instruments  the  Treasury  Department  found 
itself  unable  to  decide  whether  they  were  really  such,  or  how 
they  differed  from  "  scientific  "  instruments.  The  Acting  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  H.  F.  French,  thereupon  addressed  a 
letter  to  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  asking  that  the  Institution  prepare  a  list  of  philo- 
sophical instruments  for  the  use  of  the  collectors  of  customs.  Pro- 
fessor Baird  having  suggested  that  the  Academy  might  prepare 
such  a  list,  Secretary  French  wrote  to  the  President  under  date 
of  September  13,  1884,  stating  that  the  Department  would  be 
obliged  if  he  would  furnish  the  list.  The  President,  O.  C. 
Marsh,  thereupon  appointed  a  committee  consisting  of  George 
J.  Brush,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  S.  H.  Scudder,  Simon  Newcomb  and 
George  F.  Barker,  to  report  on  the  subject  in  question.  The 
committee  reported  later  in  the  year,  explaining  the  reasons 
which  made  it  impracticable  to  prepare  a  list  of  instruments, 
and  explaining  the  meaning  of  the  expression  "  philosophical 
instruments  "  as  follows :  15° 

"  Although  the  term  '  philosophical '  as  applied  to  instruments  has  long  ceased 
to  be  employed  in  scientific  language,  it  has  a  well  defined  signification  in  ordinary 
use.  It  has  come  down  from  a  time  when  nearly  all  our  knowledge  of  inanimate 
nature  was  comprehended  under  the  general  term  '  natural  philosophy,'  and  the 
instruments  and  apparatus  necessary  for  acquiring  and  illustrating  that  knowledge 
were  termed  '  philosophical.'  The  obvious  intent  of  Congress  in  specially  desig- 
nating philosophical  instruments  was  to  cover  the  case  of  institutions  and  indi- 
viduals who  might  import  the  instruments  and  apparatus  for  the  purpose  of 
improving  natural  knowledge.  It  therefore  appears  to  us  that  the  terms  '  philo- 
sophical apparatus  and  instruments  '  in  both  clauses  quoted  should  be  held  to  cover 
all  such  instruments  and  apparatus  imported  for  this  purpose. 

"°The  correspondence  and  the  report  of  the  committee  are  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Academy  for  1884,  pp.  65-67. 


WATSON  MEDAL 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          303 

"  It  does  not  appear  to  your  committee  that  the  addition  of  the  word  '  scientific  ' 
in  the  last  clause  of  the  law  quoted  comprehends  any  objects  other  than  those 
which  may  be  included  under  the  term  '  philosophical '  as  hereinbefore  defined. 
We  regard  the  addition  of  this  word  as  merely  intended  to  render  the  meaning 
of  Congress  more  explicit."  151 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  DAY,  THE  SOLAR 
ECLIPSE  OF  AUGUST,  1886,  AND  THE  ERECTION  OF  A  NEW 
NAVAL  OBSERVATORY.  1885 

As  indicated  by  the  heading,  this  committee  was  concerned 
with  three  different  matters  of  astronomical  importance.  It 
was  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  W.  C. 
Whitney,  who,  on  April  22,  1885,  addressed  the  following  letter 
to  the  President  of  the  Academy : 152 

"  NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 

"WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  22,  1885. 
"  PROFESSOR  O.  C.  MARSH, 

"  President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

"  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  enclosed  a  copy  of  Senate  Executive  Docu- 
ment No.  78,  48th  Congress,  2nd  Session,  containing  a  letter  from  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  dated  February  lyth,  1885,  transmitting  communications  concerning 
the  proposed  change  in  the  time  for  beginning  the  astronomical  day,  as  recom- 
mended by  the  recent  Meridian  Conference. 

"  I  would  respectfully  request  that  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  take  into 
consideration  the  question  of  adopting  the  proposed  change  in  the  American 
Ephemeris  and  Nautical  Almanac,  and  other  astronomical  publications,  and  advise 
this  Department  of  its  views  and  recommendations  on  the  subject. 

"  I  have  also  the  honor  to  submit  for  your  consideration  and  recommendation 
the  following  questions: 

"  1st.  As  to  the  advisability  of  asking  Congress  to  make  an  appropriation  for  the 
observation  of  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  August,  1886,  to  be  expended  by  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Observatory  under  direction  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment. 

"  2nd.  As  to  the  advisability  of  proceeding  promptly  with  the  erection  of  a  new 
Naval  Observatory  upon  the  site  purchased  in  1880. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  W.  C.  WHITNEY, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy." 

151  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1884,  p.  67. 

152  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1885,  pp.  35-36. 


304  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

The  committee  consisted  of  F.  A.  P.  Barnard  (chairman),  A. 
Graham  Bell,  J.  D.  Dana,  S.  P.  Langley,  Theodore  Lyman,  E.  C. 
Pickering,  and  C.  A.  Young. 

Of  the  three  subjects  presented  for  its  consideration,  the  com- 
mittee gave  its  attention  principally  to  the  question  of  the  erec- 
tion of  a  new  observatory  building. 

THE  ASTRONOMICAL  DAY 

As  regards  the  change  in  the  astronomical  day  proposed  by 
the  International  Meridian  Conference,  to  make  it  conform  to 
the  civil  day,  the  committee  recommended  that  it  be  carried  into 
effect  as  soon  as  there  should  be  a  general  agreement  among 
astronomers  and  astronomical  establishments  to  adopt  it,  and 
preferably  in  1890  or  in  1900.  It  is  well  known  that  from  the 
earliest  times  astronomers  have  been  accustomed  to  reckon  the 
day  as  beginning  when  the  sun  is  on  the  meridian,  or  in  other 
words,  at  noon;  while  for  ordinary  purposes  among  modern  na- 
tions the  day  begins  at  midnight.  In  the  case  of  a  phenomenon  re- 
ported as  occurring  on  a  certain  day  between  noon  and  midnight 
there  is,  therefore,  room  for  uncertainty  as  to  the  real  date,  unless 
the  kind  of  day  be  specified.  If  the  astronomical  day  should  be 
made  to  conform  to  the  civil  day,  this  uncertainty  would  dis- 
appear but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  would  be  a  lack  of  uni- 
formity between  ancient  and  recent  astronomical  records.  The 
committee  considered  these  difficulties  and  decided  that  the 
advantage  of  having  a  single  system  of  reckoning  time  over- 
balanced the  inconvenience  of  a  discrepancy  among  astronomical 
records.  This  view  has  not,  however,  prevailed  up  to  the  present 
time,  and,  with  few  exceptions,  astronomers  have  continued  to 
regard  the  day  as  beginning  at  noon. 

THE  SOLAR  ECLIPSE  OF  AUGUST  29,  1886 

This  eclipse  was  visible  in  the  tropics  and  the  committee,  after 
looking  into  the  matter,  concluded  that  it  would  be  observed  to 
the  best  advantage  in  Benguela,  West  Africa,  but  as  a  consider- 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          305 

able  time  would  be  required  for  making  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions, and  it  was  improbable  that  any  money  that  might  be 
appropriated  would  be  available  until  late  in  the  spring  of  1886, 
the  committee  did  not  recommend  that  Congress  be  asked  to  take 
action  regarding  it. 

The  eclipse  was,  however,  observed  in  the  West  Indies  by 
astronomers  from  private  American  observatories. 

THE  U.  S.  NAVAL  OBSERVATORY 

An  act  of  Congress  approved  February  4,  1880,  provided  for 
the  purchase  of  a  new  site  for  the  Naval  Observatory  in  Wash- 
ington,153 which  since  1844  had  been  located  on  a  low  eminence 
near  the  Potomac  River,  known  as  "  observatory  hill,"  situated 
between  23d  and  2^th  streets.  The  affairs  of  the  observatory 
form  the  main  theme  of  the  committee's  report.  For  some  years 
the  old  site  had  been  generally  regarded  as  very  unhealthy,  the 
building  was  somewhat  dilapidated  and  had  become  inad- 
equate for  the  needs  of  the  observatory,  the  equipment  had  be- 
come more  or  less  antiquated,  and  the  grounds  were  regarded 
as  too  limited.  The  committee  invited  expressions  of  opinion  as 
to  the  advisability  of  moving  from  astronomers  who  had  been 
attached  to  the  observatory  for  a  long  term  of  years,  including 
Professor  Holden  and  Professor  Newcomb,  and  also  from 
various  physicians  of  Washington  as  to  the  wholesomeness  of  the 
old  site.  While  opinions  differed  widely  as  to  the  effects  of  the 
malarial  surroundings  of  the  observatory  caused  by  river-fogs, 
the  committee  reached  the  conclusion  that  a  change  of  location 
was  desirable.  Accordingly,  an  item  was  included  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy  in  the  estimates  for  1887,  for  beginning  the 
erection  of  a  new  building  on  the  site  on  the  heights  back  of 
Georgetown,  and  in  the  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval 
service  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1887,  approved  July 
26,  1886,  Congress  gave  the  necessary  authorization,  in  the 
following  terms: 

"  For  commencing  the  erection  of  the  new  Naval  Observatory  on  the  site 
purchased  under  the  act  of  Congress  approved  February  fourth,  eighteen  hundred 

153  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  21,  p.  64,  46th  Congress,  zd  Session,  chap.  19. 


306  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

and  eighty,  fifty  thousand  dollars :  Provided,  That  the  construction  of  no  building 
shall  be  commenced  except  an  observatory  proper,  with  necessary  offices  for 
observers  and  computers."  154 

The  new  observatory  was  completed  in  1893. 

While  the  committee  recognized  the  importance  of  a  suit- 
able site,  and  adequate  equipment  and  buildings,  it  was  far  more 
concerned  regarding  the  organization  of  the  observatory.  The 
main  body  of  its  report  relates  to  this  subject.  It  argued 
that  while  astronomers  who  were  naval  officers,  and  especially 
James  M.  Gilliss  and  Charles  H.  Davis  (both  members  of  the 
Academy)  had  contributed  to  the  reputation  of  the  Observatory, 
as  an  important  scientific  establishment,  that  reputation  was 
derived  mainly  from  the  labors  of  its  civilian  professors,  Walker, 
Ferguson,  Hall,  Holden,  Newcomb  and  others.  It,  therefore, 
recommended  that  the  Observatory  be  reorganized  under  a 
civilian  administration,  and  that  its  name  be  changed  from 
United  States  Naval  Observatory  to  the  National  Observatory 
of  the  United  States,  which  latter  designation  it  bore  at  a  certain 
early  period  in  its  history.155 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  TARIFF  CLASSIFICATION 
OF  WOOLS.     1885 

In  the  various  tariff  laws  enacted  by  Congress  in  the  course 
of  the  last  forty  years,  different  rates  of  duties  are  imposed  for 
wool  in  the  natural  condition  of  the  fleece,  and  for  wool  that  has 
been  washed  or  scoured.  Washing  is  defined  as  cleansing  the 
fleece  while  still  on  the  sheep's  back  by  washing  it  in  cold  water, 
while  scouring  is  defined  as  a  more  effective  cleansing  of  the 
wool  by  means  of  hot  water,  or  alkalies  and  other  chemicals. 
The  rate  for  washed  wool  is  twice,  and  that  for  scoured  wool 
three  times  the  rate  for  wool  in  the  natural  condition.  For 
some  time  the  appraisers  appear  to  have  overlooked  the  distinc- 
tion and  much  wool  was  admitted  at  a  less  rate  than  it  should 

154  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  24,  p.  156,  49th  Congress,  ist  Session,  chap.  781,  1886. 

155  The  report  of  the  committee  constitutes  Sen.  Exec.  Doc.,  no.  67,  49th  Congr.,  ist  Sess. 
Ordered  printed  Feb.  10,  1886.    See  also  Sen.  Exec.  Doc.  no.  78,  48th  Congr.  2d  Sess.  1885. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          307 

have  paid  under  the  law.  In  the  report  of  H.  Wheeler  Combs, 
general  appraiser  at  the  port  of  New  York,  dated  October  30, 
1885,  we  read: 

"  We  had  also  made  inquiry  into  the  discrepancies  between  the  large  ports  in  the 
matter  of  the  value  and  classification  of  foreign  wools — particularly  those  known 
as  '  Donskoi  wools ' — and  were  in  communication  with  the  officials  and  reputable 
importers  at  the  large  ports  on  this  subject.  We  have  learned  enough  to  convince 
us  that  gross  undervaluations  at  all  the  ports  have  existed  for  years,  through  a 
misapprehension  on  the  part  of  the  customs  officials  of  the  true  value  of  the  cur- 
rency on  which  the  traffic  is  actually  based. 

"  These  wools  are  entered  as  '  washed  wools,'  valued  at  less  than  12  cents  per 
pound.  A  chemical  analysis  was  made  at  the  laboratory  connected  with  the 
appraiser's  office,  and  the  chemist  reports  that  they  are  'scoured  wools.'  This 
subject  is  now  being  carefully  investigated  by  the  appraiser  of  this  port."  156 

On  December  3,  1885,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Daniel 
Manning,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  Academy,  in 
which  he  stated  that  an  appeal  had  been  taken  from  the  decision 
of  the  Collector  of  Customs  at  the  port  of  New  York  in  a  case 
involving  the  classification  of  a  certain  consignment  of  wool  for 
tariff  purposes,  and  requested  that  the  Academy  would  advise 
him  as  to  its  proper  classification.  The  President  appointed  a 
committee  to  examine  the  sample  of  wool  which  accompanied 
the  letter  and  determine  its  real  character.  This  committee, 
which  consisted  of  C.  F.  Chandler,  W.  H.  Brewer  and  Henry 
Morton,  reported  on  January  16,  1886,  giving  its  opinion  as  to 
the  character  of  the  wool  and  at  the  same  time  offering  some 
detailed  information  of  a  very  interesting  character  as  to  the 
qualities  of  different  kinds  of  wool.  This  included  a  transla- 
tion of  Chindsinsky's  article  on  the  composition  of  the  fleece  of 
merino  and  coarse-wooled  breeds  of  sheep.  To  this  were  added 
analyses  of  various  samples  of  wools  procured  by  the  committee, 
including  the  one  received  from  the  Treasury  Department,  and 
a  summary  of  analyses  made  by  other  investigations.  The  com- 
mittee then  presented  the  following  conclusions: 

"  From  the  preceding  facts,  we  see  that  wool  comes  into  the  trade  in  a  very 
great  variety  of  purity,  some  with  not  over  10  or  15  per  cent,  of  actual  wool 

156  Report  of  H.  Wheeler  Combs,  General  Appraiser,  B.  H.  Hinds,  C.  H.  Lapp,  Special 
Agents,  New  York,  October  30,  1885.  Rep.  Seer.  Treas.,  1885,  p.  126. 


308  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

fiber,  others  with  80  or  85  per  cent.,  and  that  some  of  the  contaminations  are 
soluble  in  cold  water,  others  requiring  hot  water  and  soap,  or  other  chemicals,  and 
still  others,  mechanical,  and  requiring  special  machinery  for  their  removal. 

"  From  all  this  it  will  be  seen  that  any  classification  of  wools  for  tariff,  founded 
on  any  of  the  physical  characters  named,  or  on  the  alleged  treatment,  as 
'  unwashed,'  '  washed,'  or  '  scoured,'  must  of  necessity  be  entirely  arbitrary,  and  in 
very  many  cases  uncertain  and  unsatisfactory,  since  each  character  is  variable  in 
itself,  and  by  its  combinations  allows  of  an  infinite  number  of  gradings  and  sorts, 
so  that,  however  classified,  according  to  these  characters  there  will  be  many 
samples  which  will  lie  so  near  the  assumed  border  lines  that  their  actual  place  will 
be  a  matter  of  opinion  rather  than  of  demonstration. 

"  A  classification  may,  however,  be  founded  on  chemical  characters  determined 
by  the  amount  of  actual  wool  fiber,  which  may  be  used  as  the  fixed  quantity  for 
rating  a  specific  tariff.  The  actual  wool  fiber  may  be  readily  and  accurately 
determined  by  chemical  methods,  beyond  any  reasonable  question. 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  commercial  values  depend  greatly  on  the  fineness  of  the 
wools,  and  any  tariff  classification  founded  on  the  weight  of  actual  wool  substance 
would  bear  most  heavily  on  the  coarser  and  cheaper  sorts,  the  ad  valorem  element 
may  be  combined  with  the  fixed  element  suggested,  in  order  to  meet  any  special 
ends  other  than  that  of  mere  revenue."  15T 

Up  to  the  present  time,  Congress  has  not  adopted  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  committee  in  regard  to  the  classification  of  wools, 
but  has  continued  to  impose  special  rates  on  "  washed  "  wool  and 
"  scoured  "  wool. 

COMMITTEE  ON  QUARTZ  PLATES  USED  IN  SACCHARIMETERS 
FOR  SUGAR  DETERMINATIONS.     1887 

After  the  polariscope  method  had  been  used  for  some  years  by 
the  Government  in  determining  the  saccharine  strength  of  sugars 
on  which  customs  duties  were  levied,  the  Treasury  Department 
appealed  to  the  Academy  to  test  certain  quartz  plates  used  in  the 
saccharimeters.  The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  the 
Academy  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  C.  S.  Fairchild: 

"  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

"WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  17,  1887. 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  Certain  questions  connected  with  the  classification  of  imported 
sugars  are  now  under  consideration  by  this  Department.  It  becomes  necessary 
that  three  standard  quartz  plates  used  by  appraisers  in  determining  the  saccharine 

MTRep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1885,  p.  99. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          309 

strength  of  sugars  whereby  its  classification  for  duty  is  made,  be  tested  with  a  view 
to  ascertain  their  exact  measurement,  angle,  and  ray.  I  will  thank  you  to  inform 
me  if  the  necessary  test  can  be  made  by  your  Academy,  and,  if  so,  upon  receipt  of 
your  reply,  the  plates  will  be  forwarded  to  such  address  as  you  may  indicate. 

"  Respectfully,  yours, 

"  C.  S.  FAIRCHILD, 

"  Secretary.™ 
"  The  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  Washington,  D.  C." 

The  President  appointed  as  a  committee,  Arthur  W.  Wright, 
Edward  S.  Dana  and  Charles  S.  Hastings,  requesting  them  not 
only  to  examine  the  plates  but  "  to  bring  out  the  scientific  prin- 
ciples involved,  as  a  basis  for  future  work."  Three  plates  were 
received  for  examination  from  the  Treasury  Department  in  June, 
1887,  and  three  more  in  September  of  the  same  year.  The  report 
of  the  committee,  which  was  submitted  on  December  29,  1887, 
contains,  in  addition  to  a  technical  statement  regarding  the 
methods  pursued,  and  the  quality  and  value  of  each  plate 
examined,  a  brief  summary  of  the  principles  on  which  the 
saccharimeter  is  based.159 

COMMITTEES  ON  THE  MORPHINE  CONTENT  OF  OPIUM. 

1886  AND  1887 

It  seems  rather  singular  that  the  Treasury  Department  should 
have  thought  it  fitting  to  send  samples  of  opium  to  the  Academy 
for  the  simple  purpose  of  ascertaining  what  percentage  of 
morphine  they  contained.  Nevertheless,  this  was  done  on  two 
occasions;  first  in  1886  and  again  in  1887.  The  Acting  Sec- 
retary, C.  S.  Fairchild,  seems  to  have  given  a  literal  interpreta- 
tion to  the  section  of  the  charter  of  the  Academy  which  provides 
that  it  shall  examine  or  investigate  any  subject  of  science  or  art 
when  called  upon  by  the  Government  to  do  so. 

The  opium  in  question  was  part  of  two  lots  seized  on  account 
of  having  been  smuggled  into  the  country.  The  first  request  for 
an  analysis  was  received  from  the  Acting  Secretary  of  the 

158  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1887,  p.  37. 

158  For  the  full  report  and  correspondence,  see  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1887,  pp.  37-45. 


310  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Treasury  under  date  of  April  7,  1886.  The  President  of  the 
Academy,  Professor  Marsh,  appointed  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Ira  Remsen  and  George  F.  Barker  who  reported  on  June  14, 
1886.  As  various  methods  had  been  employed  for  determining 
the  percentage  of  morphine  in  opium,  the  committee  at  first 
proposed  to  ascertain  which  of  them  was  calculated  to  give  the 
most  accurate  results,  but  having  learned  that  the  Treasury 
Department  would  be  satisfied  with  a  less  thorough  investigation, 
it  confined  itself  to  a  single  method. 

By  employing  Fliickiger's  process,  as  modified  by  Squibb,  it 
was  determined  that  the  percentage  of  morphine  in  the  syrupy 
liquid  opium  was  19.53,  ano^  m  me  same  when  reduced  to  a  dry 
powder,  25.28  per  cent.160 

A  year  later,  in  1887,  a  second  request  was  received  from  the 
Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  the  same  information 
regarding  another  sample  of  smuggled  opium.  The  President 
seems  not  to  have  been  entirely  satisfied  to  have  the  Academy 
called  upon  to  answer  these  comparatively  unimportant  inquiries. 
Notwithstanding,  he  requested  the  same  two  chemists  to  serve  a 
second  time,  and  appointed  Professor  Charles  F.  Chandler  as  the 
third  member  of  the  committee.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
chairman  of  the  committee,  however,  under  date  of  May  4,  1887, 
he  remarked:  "  The  province  of  the  Academy  is  not  to  conduct 
a  technical  examination  merely,  but  especially  to  bring  out  the 
scientific  principles  involved  in  the  investigation,  and  in  this 
spirit  I  wish  the  work  to  be  undertaken."  161 

Having  in  view  this  injunction  of  the  President,  the  committee 
returned  to  its  original  plan  of  first  testing  the  various  methods 
of  analysis  to  ascertain  which  of  them  gave  the  most  uniform 
results,  and  then  applying  this  particular  method  to  the  problem 
at  issue.  Accordingly,  the  committee  engaged  the  services  of 
Mr.  I.  H.  Kastle  of  Johns  Hopkins  University  to  make  the 
necessary  experiments.  Five  methods  were  investigated,  namely, 
that  of  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia,  Fliickiger's  method, 

180  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1886,  p.  40. 
161  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1887,  p.  32. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          311 

the  same  as  modified  by  Squibb,  Stillwell's  modification  of  the 
Fliickiger-Squibb  method,  and  the  so-called  "  Helfenberg 
Method  "  devised  by  Dietrich.  Each  of  these  methods  is  de- 
scribed in  the  report  of  the  committee,  and  afterwards  the  results 
obtained  from  two  or  more  analyses  of  the  sample  of  opium 
received  from  the  Treasury  Department  by  the  use  of  each 
method.  The  conclusion  reached  was  that  the  Pharmacopoeia 
method  was  far  from  accurate,  while  Stillwell's  method  was  in 
every  way  the  most  satisfactory.  A  modification  of  the  latter 
was  devised  which  shortened  the  time  required  for  making  the 
estimations.  The  opium,  which  was  a  thick,  black,  semi-liquid 
mass  was  found  to  contain  an  average  amount  of  12.16  per  cent 
of  morphine.  The  report  was  submitted  on  August  16,  1887,  and 
was  transmitted  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  two  days  later.162 

COMMITTEE  TO  FORMULATE  A  PLAN  FOR  A  SYSTEMATIC 
SEARCH  FOR  THE  MAGNETIC  NORTH  POLE.     1890 

The  idea  of  organizing  an  expedition  to  search  for  the  Mag- 
netic North  Pole  originated  with  Colonel  W.  H.  Gilder,  United 
States  Army.  Col.  Gilder  was  a  member  of  the  expedition  sent 
out  by  the  American  Geographical  Society  in  1879  to  search  for 
the  papers  of  Sir  John  Franklin.  In  1881  he  was  a  volunteer 
on  the  ship  Rodgers,  which  was  sent  out  by  the  Government  to 
search  for  the  Jeannette. 

His  suggestion  of  the  desirability  of  sending  out  an  expedition 
for  the  purpose  of  locating  the  Magnetic  North  Pole  was  made 
in  1890  to  Professor  T.  C.  Mendenhall,  then  Superintendent  of 
the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  who  put  him  into 
communication  with  Professor  C.  A.  Schott.163  On  May  28 
of  the  same  year  Professor  Mendenhall  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  which  he  expressed  the  opinion  that 
any  properly-organized  expedition  for  the  purpose  ought  to 
receive  the  encouragement  of  the  Government,  and  suggested 

162  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1887,  pp.  31-35. 

163  See  Jour.  Araer.  Geogr.  Soc.,  vol.  24,  pp.  215-261. 


312  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

that  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  be  asked  to  formulate 
a  plan. 

On  May  22,  1890,  the  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
Geo.  S.  Batcheller,  requested  the  President  of  the  Academy  to 
appoint  a  committee  to  report  on  the  subject.  The  President,  Pro- 
fessor Marsh,  appointed  S.  P.  Langley  (chairman),  Henry  L. 
Abbot,  W.  P.  Trowbridge,  A.  M.  Mayer,  Chas.  A.  Schott,  John 
Trowbridge  and  Charles  Carpmael.  This  committee  submitted 
a  preliminary  report  on  November  12,  1890,  in  which  it  stated 
that  in  its  opinion  a  knowledge  of  the  exact  position  of  the  Mag- 
netic North  Pole  was  not  so  important  "  as  a  study  of  the  changes 
in  the  magnetic  elements  to  be  obtained  from  a  cordon  of  stations, 
stretching  from  Alaska  to  Newfoundland,  supplemented  also 
by  stations  in  Siberia."  It  suggested  that  a  cordon  of  stations 
should  be  established  near  the  line  of  dip  of  89°,  and  that  the 
observations  should  be  taken  simultaneously  at  all  the  stations.164 

Here  the  matter  seems  to  have  rested  until  May  2,  1892,  when 
a  general  discussion  took  place  before  the  American  Geograph- 
ical Society,  Chief  Justice  Daly  of  New  York  presiding.  The 
preliminary  report  of  the  Academy  was  read,  together  with 
letters  from  Professor  Mendenhall  and  Professor  Marsh,  after 
which  addresses  were  delivered  by  Professor  Wm.  P.  Trow- 
bridge, Professor  Mayer,  General  Greeley  and  Colonel  Gilder. 
Professor  Trowbridge  read  a  letter  from  Professor  Schott  con- 
taining a  detailed  plan  for  a  survey  of  the  region  immediately 
surrounding  the  pole. 

Although  the  meeting  was  an  enthusiastic  one,  the  expedition 
was  never  organized.  It  seems  to  have  been  intended  that  Col. 
Gilder  should  be  the  leader,  and  that  Lieut.  Schwatka  should 
accompany  him.  Lieut.  Schwatka  died  on  November  2,  i892,165 
and  this  circumstance  appears  to  have  interfered  with  the  suc- 
cess of  the  enterprise. 

184  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1890,  p.  35. 

185  Journ.  Amer.  Geogr.  Soc.,  vol.  24,  p.  618. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          313 

COMMITTEE  TO  PRESCRIBE  AND  PUBLISH  SPECIFICATIONS 
FOR  THE  PRACTICAL  APPLICATION  OF  THE  DEFINITIONS 
OF  THE  AMPERE  AND  VOLT.  1894 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  Academy  sent  delegates  in  1884  to 
the  International  Congress  of  Electricians  at  Paris.  At  this 
congress  the  "  legal  ohm  "  or  "  congress  ohm  "  was  established, 
having  for  its  determination  the  resistance  of  a  column 
of  mercury  106  centimeters  long.  It  was  considered  both  at 
that  time  and  subsequently  that  this  length  was  not  the  proper 
one  and  for  the  further  consideration  of  this  and  other  matters 
connected  with  electrical  units  an  international  electrical  congress 
was  held  in  Chicago  in  1893.  On  this  occasion  the  ohm  known  as 
the  "  international  ohm  "  was  determined  upon,  having  as  its 
basis  the  resistance  of  a  column  of  mercury  106.3  centimeters 
long.  The  "  volt,"  "  ampere,"  "  henry  "  and  other  units  were  also 
fixed. 

In  the  year  following  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  defining  the  various  units  in  accordance  with 
the  decisions  of  the  electrical  congress.  These  comprised  the 
ohm,  the  ampere,  the  volt,  the  coulomb,  the  farad,  the  joule,  the 
watt  and  the  henry;  the  last,  as  is  well  known,  named  in  honor  of 
Joseph  Henry,  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
and  second  President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

The  act  referred  to,  which  was  approved  on  July  12,  i894,186 
contained  the  following  provision: 

"  Sec.  2.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  to 
prescribe  and  publish,  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  passage  of  this  Act,  such 
specifications  of  details  as  shall  be  necessary  for  the  practical  application  of  the 
definitions  of  the  ampere  and  volt  hereinbefore  given,  and  such  specifications 
shall  be  the  standard  specifications  herein  mentioned." 

For  some  reason  which  is  not  apparent,  the  Act  did  not  come 
to  the  attention  of  the  President  until  the  last  day  of  October.161 
On  November  6,  he  applied  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  an 
authentic  copy,  and  received  the  same  on  November  9. 

198Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  28,  p.  101,  53d  Congress,  zd  Session,  chap.  131.     See  also  Rep.  Nat. 
Acad.  Sci.  for  1894,  P-  395  als°  for  1895,  p.  7. 
167  See  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1894,  P-  4°- 


314  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

The  same  day  he  appointed  the  following  committee  to  inves- 
tigate and  report  upon  the  matter:  H.  A.  Rowland  (chair- 
man), T.  C.  Mendenhall,  H.  L.  Abbot,  G.  F.  Barker,  J.  Trow- 
bridge,  C.  S.  Hastings,  and  C.  Barus.  Professor  Mendenhall 
declined  appointment  and  was  replaced  by  Professor  A.  A. 
Michelson.  A  special  meeting  was  held  in  New  York  on 
February  9,  1895,  to  consider  the  report  of  the  committee,  in 
which  detailed  specifications  were  given  for  the  practical  appli- 
cation of  the  ampere  and  volt,  which  were  prepared  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  law  and  were  also  in  accordance  with  the 
international  agreement  The  specifications  are  quoted  in  full 
in  the  report  of  the  Academy  for  1895  (pp.  9-13),  with  notes 
and  illustrations.  The  Academy  then  by  a  unanimous  vote 
adopted  the  specifications  and  prescribed  them  in  accordance 
with  the  Act  of  Congress.  "  It  was  also  voted  unanimously  that 
these  specifications  be  published  by  the  sending,  by  the  president, 
of  a  copy  of  the  same  to  each  House  of  Congress  and  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  State,  with  the  request  to  the  latter  that  they  be  issued  by 
the  State  Department;  and,  further,  by  the  printing  by  the  home 
secretary  of  the  Academy  of  a  suitable  number  of  copies  for 
public  distribution."  "8 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  INAUGURATION  OF  A  RATIONAL 
FOREST  POLICY  FOR  THE  FORESTED  LANDS  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES.  1896 

At  an  early  date,  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
adopted  the  policy  of  purchasing  or  setting  aside  from  the  public 
domain  certain  limited  areas  of  forested  land  from  which  to 
obtain  timber  for  the  use  of  the  Navy,  but  it  was  not  until  the 
repeal  of  the  so-called  timber-culture  laws  in  1891  that  the 
President  was  authorized  to  make  extensive  forest  reservations 
without  reference  to  any  special  economic  value  which  they 
might  possess.  As  a  result  of  executive  action  in  accordance  with 

188  See  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1894,  PP-  J7i  39'42»  f°r  *$9S>  PP-  7'13-  The  report  of  the 
committee  constitutes  Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  115,  $$d  Congr.  3d  Sess.  Order  printed  Feb.  19, 
1895. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          315 

this  provision  of  law,  the  reserved  forest  lands  in  1896  comprised 
no  less  than  eighteen  million  acres,  for  which  there  was  no 
definite  system  of  management.  Moved  apparently  by  this  cir- 
cumstance,169 under  date  of  February  15,  1896,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior,  Hoke  Smith,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the 
President  of  the  Academy:  17° 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

"WASHINGTON,  February  15,  1896. 

"  SIR:  I  have  the  honor,  as  the  head  of  the  Department  charged  with  the 
administration  of  the  public  domain,  to  request  an  investigation  and  report  of  your 
honorable  body,  as  is  provided  in  the  act  incorporating  the  National  Academy, 
and  by  article  5,  section  5,  of  its  constitution,  upon  the  inauguration  of  a  rational 
forest  policy  for  the  forested  lands  of  the  United  States. 

"  Being  convinced  of  the  necessity  for  a  radical  change  in  the  existing  policy 
with  reference  to  the  disposal  and  preservation  of  the  forests  upon  the  public 
domain,  I  particularly  desire  an  official  expression  from  your  body  upon  the  fol- 
lowing points : 

"  I.  Is  it  desirable  and  practicable  to  preserve  from  fire  and  to  maintain  perma- 
nently as  forested  lands  those  portions  of  the  public  domain  now  bearing  wood 
growth  for  the  supply  of  timber? 

"  2.  How  far  does  the  influence  of  forest  upon  climate,  soil,  and  water  condi- 
tions make  desirable  a  policy  of  forest  conservation  in  regions  where  the  public 
domain  is  principally  situated  ? 

"  3.  What  specific  legislation  should  be  enacted  to  remedy  the  evils  now  con- 
fessedly existing? 

"  My  predecessors  in  office  for  the  last  twenty  years  have  vainly  called  attention 
to  the  inadequacy  and  confusion  of  existing  laws  relating  to  the  public  timber 
lands,  and  consequent  absence  of  an  intelligent  policy  in  their  administration, 
resulting  in  such  conditions  as  may,  if  not  speedily  stopped,  prevent  a  proper 
development  of  a  large  portion  of  our  country;  and  because  the  evil  grows  more 
and  more  as  the  years  go  by,  I  am  impelled  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  the 
question  by  calling  upon  you  for  the  opinion  and  advice  of  that  body  of  scientists 
which  is  officially  empowered  to  act  in  such  cases  as  this. 

"  I  also  beg  to  refer  you  to  the  proposed  legislation  which  has  been  introduced 
into  Congress  for  several  years  past  at  the  instance  of  the  American  Forestry 
Association,  supported  by  memorials  of  private  citizens  and  scientific  bodies,  and 
more  especially  the  memorials  presented  by  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science  in  1873,  which  led  to  desirable  legislation,  and  again  in 
1890,  1892,  and  in  1894. 

189  See  Yearbook  U.  S.  Dep.  Agric.,  1899,  p.  13. 
170  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1896,  p.  13. 


316  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  As  I  believe  that  a  speedy  change  in  the  existing  policy  is  urgent,  I  request 
that  you  will  give  an  early  consideration  to  this  matter,  and  favor  me  with  such 
statements  and  recommendations  as  may  be  laid  before  Congress  for  action  during 
this  session. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  HOKE  SMITH, 

"  Secretary." 

The  President  of  the  Academy  at  once  appointed  the  follow- 
ing committee  to  consider  and  report  on  the  subject  in  question: 
Charles  S.  Sargent  (chairman),  Henry  L.  Abbot,  Alexander 
Agassiz,  Wm.  H.  Brewer,  Arnold  Hague,  and  Gifford  Pinchot. 
The  President  was  also,  ex  officio,  a  member  of  the  committee. 

It  was  obvious  at  the  outset  that  no  report  of  value  could  be 
made  without  a  personal  inspection  by  the  committee  of  the 
forested  areas  of  the  public  domain  and  the  forest  reservations, 
and  on  the  representations  of  President  Wolcott  Gibbs,  the  sum 
of  $25,000  was  appropriated  by  Congress  in  the  Sundry  Civil 
Act,  approved  June  n,  1896,  to  enable  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  to  meet  the  expenses  of  an  investigation  and  report  by 
the  Academy.  The  committee  already  mentioned  being  ac- 
ceptable to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  was  authorized  to  visit 
the  various  forested  areas  and  reservations  at  the  expense  of  the 
Government.  The  members  of  the  committee,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  President,  Wolcott  Gibbs  (whose  condition  of  health 
forbade  his  going  into  the  field)  and  Professor  Agassiz,  travelled 
westward  on  July  2,  1896,  and  spent  three  months  in  laborious 
study  and  inspection  of  the  forests.  They  traversed  large  areas 
of  unreserved  forest,  and  visited  all  the  reservations  established 
prior  to  1897,  except  six,  which  were  either  of  limited  extent  or 
well-known  to  the  members  of  the  committee. 

The  conditions  which  they  found  were  truly  lamentable. 
Except  in  the  national  parks,  which  were  effectively  guarded  by 
detachments  of  the  Army,  vast  sections  of  the  forest  reserves 
were  being  destroyed  annually  by  fires  started  by  careless  or 
ignorant  campers  and  hunters,  or  by  sparks  from  locomotives. 
In  some  instances  they  were  started  by  shepherds  or  by  mining 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          317 

prospectors  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  the  ground.  "  Nearly 
every  summer  their  smoke  obscured  for  months  the  sight  of  the 
sun  over  hundreds  of  square  miles."  To  this  destruction  by  fire 
was  added  a  widespread  devastation  caused  by  wandering  herds 
of  sheep,  which  ranged  about  the  borders  of  the  forests,  stripping 
the  ground  bare  of  seedling  trees  and  growing  shrubs,  trampling 
the  tender  plants,  and  dislodging  the  soil  on  steep  mountain 
slopes.  On  the  unreserved  lands,  the  theft  of  timber  by  settlers, 
mining  prospectors,  railroad  contractors  and  others  had  assumed 
enormous  proportions.  The  Department  of  the  Interior  which 
was  charged  with  the  custody  of  these  lands  was  powerless  to 
stop  this  plunder  of  the  public  domain,  owing  mainly  to  defec- 
tive and  conflicting  laws  and  the  sentiment  of  the  people  in  the 
States  and  Territories  in  which  the  forests  are  located  that  they 
belonged  to  them  and  not  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  as  a 
whole. 

Upon  its  return  from  the  West,  the  committee  on  February  i, 
1897,  presented  a  preliminary  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  in  which  it  recommended  the  establishment  of  thirteen 
new  forest  reservations,  covering  somewhat  more  than  twenty- 
one  million  acres,  to  be  added  to  the  seventeen  reserves  already 
existing,  which  comprised  seventeen  and  one-half  million  acres. 
This  report  was  forwarded  to  the  President  on  February  6, 
1897,  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  David  R.  Francis,  with  a 
favorable  recommendation,  and  on  February  22,  the  i65th 
anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Washington,  President  Cleveland 
promulgated  proclamations  establishing  the  reserves. 

About  two  months  later,  on  May  i,  1897,  the  committee  sub- 
mitted its  complete  report  on  the  inauguration  of  a  forest  policy, 
which  was  transmitted  on  the  same  date  by  President  Wolcott 
Gibbs  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  printed  at  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office.171  This  report,  which  covers  45  printed 
pages,  is  comprehensive  in  scope  and  contains  definite  recom- 
mendations for  the  establishment  of  a  national  forestry  service. 

171  See  p.  383 ;  also  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1897,  pp.  29-73,  where  the  report  is  printed 
in  full. 


22 


31 8  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

It  begins  with  a  review  of  Gustav  Wex's  researches  on  the  rela- 
tion of  stream-flow  to  forests  in  Central  Europe,  and  sets  forth 
the  reasons  why  attention  should  be  given  to  the  preservation  of 
the  forests  of  the  United  States.  It  then  gives  a  brief  account  of 
the  history  of  forest  administration  in  Europe  and  of  the  organi- 
zation of  the  forestry  service  in  France,  Germany,  India,  and 
Canada.  This  is  followed  by  a  chapter  on  the  destructive  effects 
of  fires,  sheep  husbandry  and  illegal  timber  cutting  in  the  forest 
reserves  of  the  United  States,  and  on  the  condition  of  the  several 
reserves.  The  committee  then  proceeds  to  outline  a  definite 
system  of  national  forest  administration,  including  both  tempo- 
rary measures  and  a  permanent  organization.  The  disastrous 
results  of  defective  and  conflicting  forest  laws  are  then  com- 
mented upon,  and  attention  called  to  the  desirability  of  establish- 
ing additional  national  parks.  A  summary  of  the  conclusions  and 
recommendations  closes  the  report. 

The  form  of  organization  for  the  national  forestry  service 
recommended  by  the  committee  was  patterned  after  that  of  Ger- 
many. It  contemplated  the  formation  of  a  separate  forest  bureau 
in  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  the  principal  officers  of  which 
were  to  be  a  director,  an  assistant  director,  and  four  inspectors. 
These  officers  were  to  form  an  advisory  board  which  would  pass 
on  general  matters  relating  to  the  forests.  The  actual  care  of 
the  forests  was  to  be  intrusted  to  a  corps  of  foresters,  assistants, 
and  rangers.  The  forest  areas  of  the  West  were  to  be  grouped 
in  four  departments,  each  to  be  in  charge  of  an  inspector. 

All  the  officers  above  the  grade  of  rangers  were  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  were  to 
hold  office  during  good  behavior,  but  to  be  subject  to  retirement 
at  the  age  of  64  years. 

Until  a  permanent  corps  could  be  organized,  it  was  proposed 
to  form  a  temporary  corps  recruited  mainly  from  graduates  from 
West  Point.  A  portion  of  these  officers  were  to  be  sent  to 
Europe  to  study  in  the  forestry  schools  of  France  and  Germany, 
and  it  should  be  their  duty  on  returning  to  America  to  organize 
a  forestry  school  in  the  United  States  for  the  instruction  of  the 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          319 

forest  corps.  This  part  of  the  program  was  not  regarded  by 
the  committee,  or  at  least  by  some  of  its  members,  as  of  primary 
importance.  Stress  was,  however,  laid  on  the  desirability  of 
offering  relatively  high  rates  of  compensation  and  providing 
for  retirement,  in  order  to  attract  men  of  integrity  who  would 
render  intelligent  and  conscientious  service. 

To  provide  for  the  proper  establishment  of  new  forest  re- 
serves, the  committee  recommended  that  a  board  of  forest 
lands  should  be  created,  composed  of  an  officer  of  the  Engineer 
Corps  of  the  Army,  an  officer  of  the  Geological  Survey,  an 
officer  of  the  Coast  Survey  and  two  persons  not  connected  with 
the  Government  service,  whose  duty  should  be  to  fix  the  boun- 
daries of  such  reserves. 

These  and  other  recommendations  were  summarized  by  the 
committee  in  its  report  which  closes  as  follows :  " 

"  i.  That  the  Secretary  of  War,  upon  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  shall  be  authorized  and  directed  to  make  the  necessary  details  of  troops 
to  protect  the  forests,  timber,  and  undergrowth  on  the  public  reservations,  and  in 
the  national  parks  not  otherwise  protected  under  existing  laws,  until  a  perma- 
nent forest  bureau  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior  has  been  authorized  and 
thoroughly  organized.  (See  bill  No.  I.) 

"  2.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  shall  be  authorized  and  directed  to  issue 
the  necessary  rules  and  regulations  for  the  protection,  growth,  and  improvement 
of  the  forests  on  the  forest  reserves  of  the  United  States ;  for  the  sale  from  them  of 
timber,  firewood,  and  fencing  of  actual  settlers  on  and  adjacent  to  such  reserves, 
and  to  the  owners  of  mines  legally  located  in  them  for  use  in  such  mines;  for 
allowing  actual  settlers  who  have  no  timber  on  their  own  claims  to  take  from  the 
reserves  firewood,  posts,  poles,  and  fencing  material  necessary  for  their  immediate 
personal  use ;  for  allowing  the  public  to  enter  and  cross  the  reserves ;  for  granting 
to  county  commissioners  rights  of  way  for  wagon  roads  in  and  across  the  reserves ; 
for  granting  rights  of  way  for  irrigating  ditches,  flumes,  and  pipes,  and  for 
reservoir  sites;  and  for  permitting  prospectors  to  enter  the  reserves  in  search  of 
valuable  minerals ;  for  opening  the  reserves  to  the  location  of  mining  claims  under 
the  general  mineral  laws;  and  for  allowing  the  owners  of  unperfected  claims  or 
patents,  and  the  land-grant  railroads  with  lands  located  in  the  reserves,  to 
exchange  them  under  equitable  conditions  for  unreserved  lands.  (See  bill  No.  2, 
sees.  2-4.) 

172  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1897,  pp.  64,  65. 


320  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

"  3.  That  a  bureau  of  public  forests  shall  be  established  in  the  Department  of 
the  Interior,  composed  of  officers  specially  selected  with  reference  to  their  char- 
acter and  attainments,  holding  office  during  effciency  and  good  behavior  and  liber- 
ally paid  and  pensioned.  (See  bill  No.  2,  sees.  5-11.) 

"  4.  That  a  board  of  forest  lands  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President  to 
determine  from  actual  topographical  surveys  to  be  made  by  the  Director  of  the 
Geological  Survey  what  portions  of  the  public  domain  should  be  reserved  per- 
manently as  forest  lands  and  what  portions,  being  more  valuable  for  agriculture 
or  mining,  should  be  open  to  sale  and  settlement.  (See  bill  No.  2,  sec.  15,  and 
bill  No.  3,  sec.  6.) 

"5.  That  all  public  lands  of  the  United  States  more  valuable  for  the  pro- 
duction of  timber  than  for  agriculture  or  mining  shall  be  withdrawn  from  sale, 
settlement,  and  other  disposition  and  held  for  the  growth  and  sale  of  timber. 

(See  bill  No.  3.) 
"  6.  That  certain  portions  of  the  Rainier  Forest  Reserve  in  Washington  and 

of  the  Grand  Canyon  Forest  Reserve  in  Arizona  shall  be  set  aside  and  governed 

as  national  parks.     (See  bills,  Nos.  4  and  5.) 

"  Yours,  respectfully, 

"  CHARLES  S.  SARGENT, 
"  HENRY  L.  ABBOT, 
"  A.  AGASSIZ, 
"  WM.  H.  BREWER, 
"  ARNOLD  HAGUE, 

"  GlFFORD  PlNCHOT, 

"  WOLCOTT  GIBBS. 
"  To  the  President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences." 

To  aid  Congress  in  enacting  laws  in  accordance  with  its  recom- 
mendations, the  committee  drafted  five  bills,  which  are  given  in 
full  in  the  appendix  to  its  report. 

The  work  of  the  committee  has  had  far-reaching  conse- 
quences, although  the  Government  did  not  adopt  the  system  of 
forest  administration  proposed.  The  proclamation  of  new  forest 
reserves,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  contained  in 
the  preliminary  report  of  the  committee,  led  to  an  animated 
discussion  in  Congress,  in  the  course  of  which  the  views  and 
action  of  President  Cleveland  and  of  the  committee  of  the 
Academy  were  vigorously  attacked.  It  resulted  therefrom  that 
the  reservations  were  ordered  suspended  for  a  year.  They  were 
subsequently  reaffirmed  and  made  effective,  however,  by  Presi- 
dent McKinley. 


w 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          321 

The  final  report  of  the  committee  was  to  a  certain  extent  fore- 
stalled by  the  action  of  Congress  which  in  the  Sundry  Civil  Act 
for  1898,  passed  June  4,  1897,  made  the  following  provision: 

"  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  shall  make  provisions  for  the  protection 
against  destruction  by  fire  and  depredations  upon  the  public  forests  and  forest 
reservations  which  may  have  been  set  aside  or  which  may  be  hereafter  set  aside 
under  the  said  Act  of  March  third,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-one,  and  which 
may  be  continued;  and  he  may  make  such  rules  and  regulations  and  establish 
such  service  as  will  insure  the  objects  of  such  reservations,  namely,  to  regulate 
their  occupancy  and  use  and  to  preserve  the  forests  thereon  from  destruction, 
etc."  173 

In  the  Sundry  Civil  Act  for  1899,  $110,000  was  appro- 
priated "  to  meet  the  expenses  of  protecting  timber  on  the  public 
lands,"  and  for  other  similar  purposes,  and  $75,000  "  for  the 
care  and  administration  of  the  forest  reserves,  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  forest  inspectors  and  assistants,  and  for  the  employ- 
ment of  foresters  and  other  emergency  help  in  the  prevention 
and  extinguishment  of  forest  fires,  and  for  advertising  dead 
and  matured  trees  for  sale  within  such  reservations."  174  These 
amounts  were  to  be  expended  under  the  Department  of  the 
Interior.  The  control  of  the  public  forests  thus  remained  with 
the  Interior  Department  without  the  formation  of  a  separate 
bureau,  as  recommended  by  the  committee  of  the  Academy. 

In  the  meantime  the  Government  had  in  the  Division  of 
Forestry  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  another  organiza- 
tion concerned  with  questions  of  forest  management  and  preser- 
vation. The  activities  of  this  division  increased  rapidly  year  by 
year,  and  finally  on  February  i,  1905,  the  management  of  the 
public  forests  was  transferred  to  it  from  the  Department  of  the 
Interior.  A  special  Act  of  Congress,  approved  on  that  date, 
provides  "  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
shall,  from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  Act,  execute  or  cause 
to  be  executed  all  laws  affecting  public  lands  heretofore  or  here- 
after reserved  under  the  provisions  of  section  twenty-four  of  the 

173  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  30,  p.  35,  55th  Congress,  ist  Session,  chap.  2,  1897. 
114  Op.  clt.,  p.  618,  ssth  Congress,  2d  Session,  chap.  546,  1898. 


322  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Act  entitled  '  An  Act  to  repeal  the  timber-culture  laws,  and  for 
other  purposes,'  approved  March  third,  eighteen  hundred  and 
ninety-one,  and  Acts  supplemental  to  and  amendatory  thereof, 
after  such  lands  have  been  so  reserved,  excepting  such  laws  as 
affect  the  surveying,  prospecting,  locating,  appropriating,  enter- 
ing, relinquishing,  reconveying,  certifying,  or  patenting  of  any 
of  such  lands."  175 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal  year  this  bureau,  known  as  the 
Forest  Service,  had  in  its  employ  821  persons,  of  whom  153  were 
professionally  trained  foresters.  In  1908  the  force  comprised 
1779  persons,  consisting  of  29  inspectors,  98  forest  supervisors, 
61  deputies,  33  forest  assistants,  8  planting  assistants,  941  rangers, 
521  guards  and  88  clerks.176  The  scope  and  magnitude  of  the 
activities  of  the  Service  have  increased  year  by  year  since  that 
date. 

Thus,  after  the  lapse  of  fifteen  years  since  the  committee  of 
the  Academy  made  its  recommendations,  the  Government  has 
provided  an  effective  organization  for  the  protection  of  the 
public  forests — one  which  may  be  fairly  said  to  possess  the 
principal  features,  though  not  the  exact  form,  which  the  com- 
mittee considered  desirable.  Instead  of  a  bureau  of  forests  in  the 
Department  of  the  Interior  we  have  the  Forest  Service  in  the 
Department  of  Agriculture.  Instead  of  a  "  director "  and 
"  assistant  director,"  we  have  a  "  chief  forester  "  and  "  associate 
forester  " ;  instead  of  "  head  foresters  "  and  "  foresters  "  we  have 
"  forest  supervisors  "  and  "  deputies."  The  division  into  depart- 
ments has  been  adopted.  The  formation  of  a  special  "  board  of 
forest  lands "  has  not  been  carried  into  effect,  the  locating  and 
surveying  of  forest  lands  and  kindred  duties  remaining  in  charge 
of  the  General  Land  Office  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

The  plan  of  recruiting  officers  from  West  Point  and  providing 
for  retirement  for  age  has  not  been  adopted,  while  the  forest 
schools  connected  with  universities  and  colleges  have  supplied 
the  means  of  educating  young  men  in  the  principles  of  forestry 

175  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  33,  part  i,  p.  628,  s8th  Congress,  3d  Session,  chap.  288,  sec.  i,  1905. 
178  Rep.  Dep.  Agric.  for  1908,  p.  417. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          323 

and  the  organization  of  a  forestry  school  by  the  Government  has 
not  been  necessary.  Regarding  the  importance  of  the  work  of 
the  committee  of  the  Academy  in  the  promotion  of  the  forestry 
interests  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Gifford  Pinchot,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  committee,  and  has  also  been  the  most  conspicuous 
advocate  of  scientific  forestry  in  America,  wrote  in  1905: 

"  The  work  of  the  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  while  it 
failed  of  much  that  it  might  have  accomplished,  nevertheless  was  the  spring  from 
which  the  present  activity  in  forest  matters  was  derived.  The  proclamation  of 
the  reserves  which  it  recommended  drew  the  attention  of  the  country  as  nothing 
else  had  ever  done  to  the  question  of  forestry.  Vigorous  discussion  of  forest 
matters  by  the  public  press  led  to  a  widespread  interest,  and  that  in  turn  to  a  keen 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  forests  in  the  economy  of  each  State,  and  to  a  willing- 
ness to  take  measures  to  protect  them.  It  may  fairly  be  assumed  that,  as  one 
of  the  results  of  this  awakened  interest,  the  policy  of  making  Government  forest 
reserves  is  now  established  beyond  the  reach  of  further  question."  17T 

The  following  data  were  culled  from  the  report  of  Secretary 
Wilson  for  1912: 

In  the  midsummer  of  1912  the  Forest  Service  employed  a  total  of  4097  persons 
and  had  an  appropriation  of  over  $5,000,000  for  the  current  year.  This  bureau 
employed  only  thirteen  persons  sixteen  years  ago.  Its  administrative  and  pro- 
tective duties  alone  are  discharged  in  thirty-four  States  and  in  Alaska.  Besides 
having  charge  of  the  national  forests,  this  bureau  offers  to  provide  owners  of 
woodlands  an  opportunity  to  obtain  practical  advice  and  assistance  looking  toward 
the  introduction  of  forest  management  ori  their  holdings. 

Grazing  of  the  forest  lands,  which  was  formerly  done  destructively,  is  now 
permitted  under  control  of  this  Department.  Grazing  permits  are  issued,  and  in 
1912  over  26,000  permits  were  issued  for  the  grazing  of  1,400,000  cattle,  95,000 
horses,  and  nearly  7,500,000  sheep. 

In  the  care  of  the  national  forests  much  timber  is  sold,  and  in  1912  the 
timber  sales  numbered  nearly  5800  and  embraced  800,000,000  board  feet,  from 
which  the  receipts  were  over  $1,000,000.  The  area  of  the  national  forests,  June 
30,  1912,  was  over  187,000,000  acres. 

COMMITTEE   ON   THE    ESTABLISHMENT   OF   A    NATIONAL 
RESERVE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  APPALACHIANS.     1902 

In  1902  the  Academy  received  a  letter  from  the  chairman  of 
the  Senate  Committee  on  Forest  Reservations  and  the  Protection 
of  Game  relative  to  the  establishment  of  a  reservation  in  the 

177  Yearbook  of  the  Dep.  Agric.,  1899,  p.  297. 


324  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

Appalachian  Mountains.  This  letter  and  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Academy  appointed  to  consider  the  matter  are 
given  in  full  in  the  Report  for  the  year  mentioned.  As  they 
are  self-explanatory,  they  are  quoted  in  full  in  this  place. 

"  UNITED  STATES  SENATE 
"  COMMITTEE  ON  FOREST  RESERVATIONS  AND  THE  PROTECTION  OF  GAME, 

"April  1 6,  1902. 
"  PROF.  ALEX.  AGASSIZ, 

"  President  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  Washington,  D.  C. 
"  DEAR  SIR  :    There  is  now  before  Congress  a  bill  looking  to  the  establishment 
of  a  national  forest  reserve  to  include  the  higher  and  larger  masses  of  mountains 
in  the  Southern  Appalachian  region. 

"  This  measure  is  to  be  considered  at  an  early  date  by  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Forest  Reservations,  and  in  order  that  the  best  interests  of  the  country  may  be 
served  in  this  connection  I  will  be  greatly  pleased  if  the  Committee  on  Forest 
Reservations  may  have  the  benefit  of  the  Academy's  advice. 

"  Yours  very  truly, 

"  J.  R.  BURTON." 

"  BOSTON,  April  30,  1902. 
"  ALEXANDER  AGASSIZ,  ESQ., 

"  President  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

"  SIR:  The  committee  of  the  Academy  to  whom  you  have  referred  the 
request  of  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Forestry  of  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  for  an  opinion  on  the  advisability  of  establishing  an  Appalachian  forest 
reserve,  have  examined  Senate  Document  No.  84,  Fifty-seventh  Congress,  first 
session,  being  the  message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  transmitting 
a  report  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  in  relation  to  the  forests,  rivers,  and 
mountains  of  the  Southern  Appalachian  region  (without  the  accompanying 
illustrations),  and  a  copy  of  Senate  bill  5228,  for  the  purchase  of  a  national 
forest  reserve  in  the  Southern  Appalachian  Mountain  region,  to  be  known  as  the 
'  National  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve,'  and  beg  to  state  that  they  are  in  full 
sympathy  with  the  principle  of  forest  reservations  intended  to  preserve  the 
gradual  distribution  of  rainfall  in  the  flow  of  rivers  heading  therein. 

"  They  do  not  feel,  however,  without  a  personal  examination  of  the  region  in 
question,  qualified  to  give  an  opinion  as  to  whether  the  recent  disastrous  floods  in 
various  rivers  flowing  from  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  recounted  in  the  reports 
transmitted  by  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  and  by  the  Geological  Survey  and  con- 
tained in  Document  No.  84,  resulted  from  the  actual  destruction  of  the  forests, 
and  as  to  whether  their  repetition  could  be  prevented  by  a  restoration  of  the 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          325 

forest  growth.     No  data  or  records  are  presented  to  show  that  floods  equally 
large  did  not  occur  in  older  times. 

"  To  make  a  proper  report  would  require  a  certain  time,  as  well  as  an  appro- 
priation to  meet  the  expenses  incurred  by  the  committee  of  the  academy. 

"  As  regards  the  provisions  of  the  bill,  it  appears  to  the  committee  to  be  abso- 
lutely essential  that  the  Government  shall  have  full  ownership  and  control  of  all 
reserved  lands,  and  that  these  shall  be  in  large  continuous  blocks.  To  limit  such 
ownership  to  detached  lots,  surrounded  by  areas  held  by  private  parties  upon 
whose  concurrence  success  must  depend,  would  seem  to  be  entering  on  a  dangerous 
copartnership  likely  to  result  in  large  expenditures  and  litigation. 

"  C.  S.  SARGENT, 
"  HENRY  L.  ABBOT, 
"WM.  H.  BREWER, 
"  Committee." 

COMMITTEE  ON  SCIENTIFIC  EXPLORATIONS  OF  THE 
PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS.     1902 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  1902,  President  Roosevelt  sent  the 
following  letter  to  Professor  Alexander  Agassiz."8 

"WHITE  HOUSE, 

"  WASHINGTON,  December  26,  1902. 

"  MY  DEAR  MR.  AGASSIZ  :  I  should  like  much  a  report  from  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  on  the  desirability  of  instituting  scientific  explorations  of 
the  Philippine  Islands  and  on  the  scope  proper  to  such  an  undertaking.  The 
National  Academy  is  the  official  scientific  adviser  of  the  Government,  and  I 
would  like  its  cooperation  in  planning  a  comprehensive  investigation  of  the 
natural  resources  and  natural  history  of  the  islands.  It  will  of  course  rest  with 
Congress  to  decide  the  extent  to  which  such  a  plan  can  be  carried  through ;  but  I 
should  like,  at  any  rate,  to  have  a  plan  formulated  and  to  do  what  I  can  to  have 
it  adopted. 

"  Sincerely  yours, 

"  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 
"  PROF.  ALEXANDER  AGASSIZ, 

" President  of  the  National  Academy,  Cambridge,  Mass" 

Professor  Agassiz  was  absent  in  Europe  when  this  letter 
reached  Cambridge,  and  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Vice- 
President,  Asaph  Hall,  who,  after  consulting  with  members  of 

178  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1904,  p.  22. 


326  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

the  council  residing  in  Baltimore  and  Washington,  appointed 
the  following  committee  to  formulate  a  plan  of  explorations  in 
accordance  with  the  President's  wishes:  William  H.  Brewer 
(chairman),  George  F.  Becker,  C.  Hart  Merriam,  F.  W.  Put- 
man,  and  R.  S.  Woodward.  The  committee  completed  and 
adopted  its  report  on  February  7,  1903.  The  plan  proposed 
covered  the  following  subjects  which  the  committee  recom- 
mended should  receive  attention  in  the  order  here  given  pro- 
vided they  could  not  all  be  taken  up  at  the  same  time:  Coast 
and  geodetic  surveying  and  marine  hydrography,  land  topog- 
raphy, including  surveys  and  classification  of  public  lands, 
geology  and  mineral  resources,  botany,  systematic  forestry  (or 
forestry  problems),  zoology,  anthropology. 

In  order  to  properly  coordinate  the  work,  the  committee 
proposed  that  it  should  be  in  charge  of  a  board  of  scientific 
experts,  to  be  selected  from  the  various  scientific  bureaus  of  the 
Government.  The  board  was  to  be  assisted  by  a  scientific 
council,  to  consist  of  the  chief  field  officers  of  the  several  bureaus 
engaged  in  the  work  and  presided  over  by  a  member  of  the 
Philippine  Commission.  The  council  was  to  have  an  officer  of 
the  Engineer  Corps  of  the  Army  and  a  naval  officer  associated 
with  it. 

This  report  was  transmitted  to  President  Roosevelt  on  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1903. 

On  March  9,  1903,  about  a  month  after  the  committee  of 
the  Academy  had  presented  its  report,  President  Roosevelt 
appointed  a  board,  called  the  Board  of  Scientific  Surveys  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  plans  out- 
lined by  the  Academy. 

"  WHITE  HOUSE, 

"  WASHINGTON,  March  9,  1903. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR:  At  my  request,  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  has  outlined 
a  comprehensive  plan  for  scientific  explorations  of  the  Philippine  Islands  in  a 
report,  a  copy  of  which  I  transmit  herewith  for  your  information. 

"  A  plan  of  exploration  so  broad  and  systematic  has  never  hitherto  been  pre- 
pared for  any  region,  and  if  it  can  be  carried  into  effect,  it  will  add  to  human 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          327 

knowledge  a  contribution  of  great  importance,  highly  commendable  to  the 
United  States. 

"  Before  taking  any  further  steps  in  this  matter,  I  desire  to  have  estimates  of  the 
cost  of  such  explorations  prepared,  assuming  that  the  work  is  to  be  completed  in 
ten  years,  and  that  the  various  branches  of  the  scientific  surveys  cooperate  with  one 
another  systematically  and  heartily. 

"  I  therefore  appoint  the  following  Board  of  Scientific  Surveys  to  prepare  such 
estimates  and  to  make  such  suggestions  as  may  appear  to  it  pertinent  in  the  cir- 
cumstances, viz: 

"  MR.  CHARLES  D.  WALCOTT,  Chairman. 
"  MR.  FREDERICK  C.  COVILLE 
"  MR.  BARTON  W.  EVERMANN 
"  MR.  W.  H.  HOLMES 
"  MR.  C.  HART  MERRIAM 

"  MR.    GlFFORD  PlNCHOT 

"  MR.  OTTO  H.  TITTMANN. 

"  Sincerely  yours, 

"  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT." 

The  board  held  five  meetings  in  March,  May  and  June,  1903, 
appointed  a  committee  on  plans  and  organization,  prepared 
estimates  of  expenditures,  drafted  a  bill  for  the  consideration  of 
Congress,  drew  up  various  memoranda,  and  transacted  other 
business.  After  that  the  matter  was  held  in  abeyance  for  two 
years,  but  on  February  7,  1905,  President  Roosevelt  sent  the 
report  of  the  committee  of  the  Academy  to  Congress,  with  the 
following  message: 

"  WHITE  HOUSE, 

"  February  7,  1905. 
"  To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 

"  Circumstances  have  placed  under  the  control  of  this  Government  the  Philip- 
pine Archipelago.  The  islands  of  that  group  present  as  many  interesting  and  novel 
questions  with  respect  to  their  ethnology,  their  fauna  and  flora,  and  their  geology 
and  mineral  resources  as  any  region  of  the  world.  At  my  request  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  and  report  upon  the 
desirability  of  instituting  scientific  explorations  of  the  Philippine  Islands.  The 
report  of  this  committee,  together  with  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Scientific 
Surveys  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  including  draft  of  a  bill  providing  for  surveys 
of  the  Philippine  Islands,  which  board  was  appointed  by  me,  after  receiving  the 
report  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  with 


328  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

instructions  to  prepare  such  estimates  and  make  such  suggestions  as  might  appear 
to  it  pertinent  in  the  circumstances,  accompanies  this  message. 

"  The  scientific  surveys  which  should  be  undertaken  go  far  beyond  any  surveys 
or  explorations  which  the  government  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  however  com- 
pletely self-supporting,  could  be  expected  to  make.  The  surveys,  while  of  course 
beneficial  to  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  should  be  undertaken  as  a 
national  work  for  the  information  not  merely  of  the  people  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  but  of  the  people  of  this  country  and  of  the  world.  Only  preliminary 
explorations  have  yet  been  made  in  the  archipelago,  and  it  should  be  a  matter  of 
pride  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  fully  to  investigate  and  to  describe 
the  entire  region.  So  far  as  may  be  convenient  and  practical,  the  work  of  this 
survey  should  be  conducted  in  harmony  with  that  of  the  proper  bureaus  of  the 
government  of  the  Philippines;  but  it  should  not  be  under  the  control  of  the 
authorities  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  for  it  should  be  undertaken  as  a  national 
work  and  subject  to  a  board  appointed  by  Congress  or  the  President.  The  plan 
transmitted  recommends  simultaneous  surveys  in  different  branches  of  research, 
organized  on  a  co-operative  system.  This  would  tend  to  completeness,  avoid 
duplication,  and  render  work  more  economical  than  if  the  exploration  were  under- 
taken piecemeal.  No  such  organized  surveys  have  ever  yet  been  attempted  any- 
where ;  but  the  idea  is  in  harmony  with  modern,  scientific,  and  industrial  methods. 

"  I  recommend,  therefore,  that  provision  be  made  for  the  appointment  of  a 
board  of  surveys  to  superintend  the  national  surveys  and  explorations  to  be  made 
in  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  that  appropriations  be  made  from  time  to  time  to 
meet  the  necessary  expenses  of  such  investigation.  It  is  not  probable  that  the 
survey  would  be  completed  in  a  less  period  than  that  of  eight  or  ten  years,  but  it  is 
well  that  it  should  be  begun  in  the  near  future.  The  Philippine  Commission,  and 
those  responsible  for  the  Philippine  government  are  properly  anxious  that  this  sur- 
vey should  not  be  considered  as  an  expense  of  that  government,  but  should  be 
carried  on  and  treated  as  a  national  duty  in  the  interests  of  science. 

"  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT."  179 

The  papers  of  the  President's  board  were  transmitted  to  Con- 
gress with  the  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Academy,  and 
printed  in  the  same  document.  The  plan  proposed  by  the  board 
conforms  in  all  its  essential  features  to  that  recommended  by  the 
Academy,  except  that  no  provision  is  made  for  an  advisory 
council  consisting  of  the  heads,  or  chief  field  agents,  of  the 
various  surveys. 

The  message,  with  the  accompanying  documents,  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Philippines  and  ordered  to  be  printed,18' 

179  Congr.  Record,  vol.  39,  part  2,  pp.  2052,  2057. 

180  It  forms  Sen.  Doc.  no.  145,  $8th  Congress,  3d  Session,  February  7,  1905. 


COMMITTEES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          329 

but  was  not  reported  back,  and  the  projected  surveys  were,  there- 
fore, never  undertaken.  They  appear  to  have  failed  to  obtain  sup- 
port mainly  on  account  of  the  opposition  of  the  late  Dr.  Paul  C. 
Freer,  who  thought  that  they  would  interfere  with  the  scientific 
work  in  the  Philippines  which  was  under  his  jurisdiction  as  head 
of  the  Government  laboratories  in  Manila.  Senator  Lodge  gave 
notice  on  February  10,  1905,  of  an  amendment  which  he  intended 
to  propose  to  the  Sundry  Civil  bill  for  the  fiscal  year  1906,  con- 
sisting of  an  item  for  the  expenses  of  the  board  (^Sth  Congress, 
3d  session) ,  but  on  March  2  he  wrote :  "  I  went  before  the  Com- 
mittee on  Appropriations  in  regard  to  the  amendment  and  said 
all  I  could  for  it,  but,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  they  refused  to  put  it  in." 
Scientific  explorations  and  investigations  were,  however, 
carried  on  under  the  Philippine  Commission.  Nearly  three 
years  before  President  Roosevelt  addressed  his  letter  to  the 
Academy,  the  Philippine  Commission  had  already  begun  to 
establish  scientific  bureaus  to  investigate  the  natural  resources 
of  the  islands,  and  for  other  similar  purposes.  A  Bureau  of 
Forestry  and  a  Bureau  of  Mines  were  established  in  1900.  The 
following  year  a  Health  Bureau,  an  Agricultural  Bureau,  a 
Bureau  of  Government  Laboratories,  an  Ethnological  Survey 
(first  called  a  bureau  of  Non-Christian  Tribes),  a  Weather 
Bureau,  and  a  Bureau  of  Coast  and  Geodetic  Surveys  were  estab- 
lished. These  have  all  continued  to  the  present  time,  but  in  1906 
the  Bureau  of  Government  Laboratories  and  the  Bureau  of 
Mines  were  combined  under  the  designation  of  the  Bureau  of 
Sciences,  while  the  Ethnological  Survey  was  incorporated  in  the 
Bureau  of  Education  in  1905,  and  also  the  Agricultural  Bureau 
in  1910.  The  Bureau  of  Education  had  in  the  meantime  become 
the  Department  of  Public  Instruction.  The  coast  survey  and 
geodetic  work  has  been  carried  on  jointly  by  the  Philippine 
government  and  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey. 
All  these  organizations  have  issued  numerous  reports,  scientific 
papers  and  other  publications  relating  to  the  Islands. 


330  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  METHODS  AND  EXPENSES  OF  CON- 
DUCTING SCIENTIFIC  WORK  UNDER  THE  GOVERN- 
MENT. 1908 

The  Sundry  Civil  Act  for  1908-1909,  approved  May  27,  1908, 
contained  the  following  section: 

"  SECT.  8.  The  National  Academy  of  Sciences  is  required,  at  their  next  meeting, 
to  take  into  consideration  the  methods  and  expenses  of  conducting  all  surveys  of  a 
scientific  character,  and  all  chemical,  testing,  and  experimental  laboratories  and 
to  report  to  Congress  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be  practicable  a  plan  for  consoli- 
dating such  surveys,  chemical,  testing,  and  experimental  laboratories  so  as  to 
effectually  prevent  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  expenditures  without  detri- 
ment to  the  public  service. 

"  It  is  the  judgment  of  Congress  that  any  person  who  holds  employment  under 
the  United  States  or  who  is  employed  by  or  receives  a  regular  salary  from  any 
scientific  bureau  or  institution  that  is  required  to  report  to  Congress  should 
refrain  from  participation  in  the  deliberations  of  said  National  Academy  of 
Science  on  this  subject  and  from  voting  on  or  joining  in  any  recommendation 
hereunder."  181 

Immediately  upon  the  passage  of  this  Act,  President  Remsen 
appointed  a  committee  consisting  of  R.  S.  Woodward,  W.  W. 
Campbell,  Edward  L.  Nichols,  Arthur  A.  Noyes,  and  Charles 
R.  Van  Hise  to  consider  and  report  on  the  subject  in  question. 
The  committee  submitted  its  report  to  the  Council  on  January 
9,  1909,  and  President  Remsen  on  January  16,  addressed  it  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  It  was  transmitted  to 
Congress  by  President  Roosevelt  on  January  18  and  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Appropriations  of  the  House  and  ordered  to 
be  printed.182 

The  principal  conclusions  of  the  committee  are  embodied  in 
the  following  paragraphs: 

"  From  a  general  survey  of  the  field  of  work  under  consideration  three  facts 
appear  to  be  clearly  established,  namely: 

"First.  That  the  amount  of  actual  duplication  of  work  now  carried  on  by 
the  government  bureaus  is  relatively  unimportant;  but  that  the  duplication  of 
organizations  and  of  plants  for  the  conduct  of  such  work  is  so  considerable  as  to 
need  careful  attention  from  Congress  in  the  future. 

181  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  35,  part  i,  p.  387,  6oth  Congress,  ist  Session,  chap.  200. 

182  It  constitutes  House  Doc.  no.  1337,  6oth  Congress,  2d  Session. 


COMMITTEES  ON   BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT          331 

"  Second.  That  while  the  consolidation  of  some  of  the  branches  of  work  now 
carried  on  in  several  organizations  is  probably  advisable,  specific  recommendations 
in  reference  to  such  consolidation  can  be  made  wisely  only  after  a  careful  con- 
sideration of  all  the  facts  by  the  board  hereinafter  suggested  or  by  some  similarly 
competent  body. 

"  Third.  That  there  has  never  been  hitherto  and  there  is  not  at  present  any- 
thing like  a  rational  correlation  of  allied  branches  of  scientific  work  carried  on 
by  the  Government. 

"  This  last  fact  appears  to  your  committee  by  far  the  most  important  one  pre- 
sented for  consideration."  183 

It  was  suggested  by  the  committee  that  the  permanent  board 
referred  to  above  should  consist  of  the  heads  of  the  various  scien- 
tific bureaus,  two  delegates  from  each  house  of  Congress,  and 
"  five  to  seven  eminent  men  of  science  not  connected  with  the 
government  service." 

The  recommendations  of  the  Academy  have  not  as  yet  been 
adopted  by  Congress.184 

183  Op.  cit.,  pp.  3,  4- 

184  In  the  foregoing  account  of  the  committees  appointed  by  the  Academy  at  the  request 
of  the  several  branches  of  the  Government,  no  mention  is  made  of  the  following,  whose 
work   was  either  of   minor  importance,   or  of  such  a  character   that  its   history   is   not 
accessible : 

On  National  currency,  1863   (Confidential). 

On  prevention  of  counterfeiting,  1865    (Confidential). 

On  the  preservation  of  army  knapsacks,  1868.  (Correspondence  in  the  files  of  the 
Academy  indicates  that  this  committee  never  reported.  The  question  was  one  of  restoring 
knapsacks  valued  at  a  million  dollars,  the  paint  on  which  had  become  soft  and  sticky.) 

On  silk  culture  in  the  United  States,  1870.  (See  Proc.,  vol.  i,  pp.  75,  77,  Rep.  for  1879, 
p.  n.) 

On  the  exploration  of  the  Yellowstone  region  by  General  Stanley,  1873. 

On  distinguishing  calf's  hair  goods  from  woolen  goods,  1875   (Confidential). 

On  building  stone  for  the  custom  house  at  Chicago,  1878. 

On  triangulation  connecting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts,  1882. 

The  Academy  had  some  correspondence  with  the  Department  of  the  Interior  in  1893 
relative  to  the  appointment  of  a  committee  on  a  conventional  standard  of  color.  The 
committee,  however,  was  not  appointed.  (See  Rep.  Nat.  Acad.  Sci.  for  1893,  pp.  43-46; 
also  for  1894,  p.  7.) 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I 
LIST  OF  OFFICERS 

PRESIDENT 

From  To 

ALEXANDER  DALLAS  BACHE 1863  February  14,  1867  1 

JOSEPH  HENRY  (acting) January  25,  1866  January  26,  1868 

JOSEPH   HENRY    January  26,  1868  May  13,  1878 * 

O.  C.  MARSH  (acting)    May        13,  1878  April  16,  1879 

WILLIAM  B.  ROGERS April       16,  1879  May  30,  1882 x 

O.  C.  MARSH  (acting) May        30,  1882  April  20,  1883 

O.  C.  MARSH April       20,  1883  April  19,  1895 

WOLCOTT  GIBBS    April       19,  1895  April  19,  1900 2 

ASAPH  HALL  (acting) April       19,  1900  April  18,  1901 

ALEXANDER  AGASSIZ   April       18,  1901  April  18,  1907 

IRA  REMSEN  April       18,  1907 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

From  To 

JAMES  D.  DANA 1863  August  23,  1865 2 

JOSEPH  HENRY January  25,  1866  January  26,  1868 

WILLIAM  CHAUVENET   January  26,  1868  December  13,  1870 * 

WOLCOTT  GIBBS April       19,  1872  April  16,  1878 

O.  C.  MARSH April       16,  1878  April  20,  1883 

SIMON  NEWCOMB April       20,  1883  April  17,  1889 

S.  P.  LANGLEY April       17,  1889  April  24,  1891  2 

F.  A.  WALKER April       24,  1891  January  5,  1897  * 

ASAPH  HALL   April       22,  1897  April  23,  1903 

IRA  REMSEN  April       23,  1903  April  18,  1907 

CHARLES  D.  WALCOTT April       18,  1907  


'Date  of  death. 

2  Date  of  resignation. 


335 


336 


APPENDICES 


HOME    SECRETARY 

From  To 

WOLCOTT  GIBBS 1863  April           19,  1872 2 

J.  E.  HILGARD April  19,  1872  April           16,  1878 

J.  H.  C.  COFFIN April  16,1878  April           22,  1881  2 

SIMON  NEWCOMB April  22,  1881  April          20,  1883 

ASAPH   HALL   April  20,  1883  April           22,  1897 

IRA  REMSEN  April  22,  1897  April           18,  1901 

ARNOLD  HAGUE  April  18,  1901 

FOREIGN    SECRETARY 

From  To 

Louis  AGASSIZ   1863  December    14,  1873  x 

F.  A.  P.  BARNARD April  25,  1874  April           16,  1880 

ALEXANDER  AGASSIZ   April  16,  1880  April          23,  1886 

WOLCOTT  GIBBS April  23,  1886  April           19,  1895 

ALEXANDER  AGASSIZ   April  19,  1895  April           18,  1901 

IRA  REMSEN   April  18,  1901  April           23,  1903 

SIMON  NEWCOMB April  23,  1903  April           22,  1909 

ALEXANDER  AGASSIZ   April  22,  1909  March        27,  1910  x 

GEORGE   E.   HALE April  21,  1910 

TREASURER 

From  To 

FAIRMAN  ROGERS  1863  April          22,  1881  2 

J.  H.  C.  COFFIN April  22,  1881  April           22,  1887 

J.  S.  BILLINGS April  22,  1887  April          22,  1898 

CHARLES  D.  WALCOTT April  22,  1898  April           17,  1902 2 

S.  F.  EMMONS April  17,  1902  March        28,  1911  l 

WHITMAN  CROSS  (acting) March    28,  1911  April  20,  1911 

WHITMAN  CROSS April  20,  191 1 

1  Date  of  death. 

2  Date  of  resignation. 


APPENDIX  II 
LIST   OF   MEMBERS  AND   FOREIGN   ASSOCIATES 

MEMBERS  ~         ,„.      . 

Date  of  Election 

ABBE,  CLEVELAND U.  S.  Weather  Bureau,  Washington,  D.  C.  1879 

ABBOT,  HENRY  L.,  U.  S.  A 23  Berkeley  St.,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1872 

ABEL,  JOHN  JACOB Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1912 

ALLEN,  J.  ASAPH.  .  .American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  N.  Y.  City.  1876 

AMES,  JOSEPH  S Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1909 

BARNARD,  E.  E Yerkes  Observatory,  Williams  Bay,  Wis.  1911 

BARUS,  CARL Brown  University,  Providence,  R.  I.  1892 

BECKER,  GEORGE  F U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  1901 

BELL,  A.  GRAHAM 1331  Connecticut  Ave.,  Washington,  D.  C.  1883 

BILLINGS,  JOHN  S.,  U.  S.  A.1 32  E.  Thirty-first  St.,  New  York  City.  1883 

BOAS,  FRANZ Franklin  Ave.,  Grantwood,  N.  J.  1900 

BOCHER,  MAXIME Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1909 

BOLTWOOD,  B.  B Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  191 1 

BOLZA,  OSKAR Marienstrasse  7,  Freiburg,  Germany.  1909 

BRANNER,  JOHN  C Stanford  University,  California.  1905 

CAMPBELL,  D.  H Stanford  University,  California.  1910 

CAMPBELL,  WILLIAM  W Lick  Observatory,  Mount  Hamilton,  Calif.  1902 

CATTELL,  JAMES  McK Garrison,  N.  Y.  1901 

CHAMBERLIN,  THOMAS  C University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111.  1903 

CHANDLER,  CHARLES  F Columbia  University,  New  York  City.  1874 

CHANDLER,  SETH  C Box  216,  Wellesley  Hills,  Mass.  1888 

CHITTENDEN,  RUSSELL  H.. Sheffield  Scientific  School,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1890 

CLARK,  W.  B Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1908 

CLARKE,  F.  W U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  1909 

CLARKE,  J.  M State  Hall,  Albany,  N.  Y.  1909 

COMSTOCK,  GEORGE  C Washburn  Observatory,  Madison,  Wis.  1899 

CONKLIN,  E.  G Princeton,  N.  J.  1908 

COULTER,  J.  M University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111.  1909 

COUNCILMAN,  WM.  T Harvard  Medical  School,  Boston,  Mass.  1904 

CRAFTS,  JAMES  M 59  Marlborough  St.,  Boston,  Mass.  1872 

CREW,  HENRY Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  111.  1909 

CROSS,  WHITMAN U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  1908 

1  Died  March  10,  1913. 

337 


338  APPENDICES 

Date  of  Election 

DALL,  WILLIAM  H Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  D.  C.  1897 

DANA,  EDWARD  S Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1884 

DAVENPORT,  CHARLES  B Cold  Spring  Harbor,  N.  Y.  1912 

DAVIS,  WILLIAM  MORRIS 17  Francis  Ave.,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1904 

DAY,  ARTHUR  L Geophysical  Laboratory,  Washington,  D.  C.  1911 

DEWEY,  JOHN Columbia  University,  New  York  City.  1910 

ELKIN,  WILLIAM  L Yale  University  Observatory,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1895 

FARLOW,  W.  G Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1879 

FLEXNER,  SIMON Rockefeller  Institute,  New  York  City.  1908 

FROST,  EDWIN  B Yerkes  Observatory,  Williams  Bay,  Wis.  1908 

GILBERT,  GROVE  K U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  1883 

GILL,  THEODORE  N Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  D.  C.  1873 

GOOCH,  FRANK  A Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1897 

GOODALE,  GEORGE  L Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1890 

HAGUE,  ARNOLD U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  1885 

HALE,  GEORGE  E Solar  Observatory  Office,  Pasadena,  Calif.  1902 

HALL,  EDWIN  H Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1911 

HARPER,  R.  A Columbia  University,  New  York  City.  191 1 

HASTINGS,  CHARLES  S Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1889 

HAYFORD,  JOHN  F Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  111.  1911 

HILGARD,  EUGENE  W University  of  California,  Berkeley,  Calif.  1872 

HILL,  GEORGE  W West  Nyack,  N.  Y.  1874 

HILLEBRAND,  WILLIAM  F Bureau  of  Standards,  Washington,  D.  C.  1908 

HOLDEN,  EDWARD  S U.  S.  Military  Academy,  West  Point,  N.  Y.  1885 

HOLMES,  WILLIAM  H U.  S.  National  Museum,  Washington,  D.  C.  1905 

HOWELL,  WILLIAM  H Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1905 

IDDINGS,  JOSEPH  P Brinklow,  Md.  1907 

JACKSON,  CHARLES  L 6  Boylston  Hall,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1883 

KEMP,  JAMES  F Columbia  University,  New  York  City.  191 1 

LINDGREN,  WALDEMAR U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  1909 

LOEB,  JACQUES Rockefeller  Institute,  New  York  City.  1910 

MALL,  FRANKLIN  P Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1907 

MARK,  EDWARD  L 109  Irving  St.,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1903 

MELTZER,  SAMUEL  JAMES Rockefeller  Institute,  New  York  City.  1912 

MENDENHALL,  THOMAS  C 329  North  Chestnut  St.,  Ravenna,  Ohio.  1887 

MERRIAM,  C.  HART 1919  Sixteenth  St.,  Washington,  D.  C.  1902 

MICHAEL,  ARTHUR 219  Parker  St.,  Newton  Center,  Mass.  1889 

MICHELSON,  ALBERT  A University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111.  1888 

MINOT,  CHARLES  S Harvard  Medical  School,  Boston,  Mass.  1897 

MITCHELL,  S.  WEIR 1524  Walnut  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  1865 

MOORE,  ELIAKIM  H University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111.  1901 


APPENDICES  339 

Date  of  Election 

MORGAN,  T.  H Columbia  University,  New  York  City.   1909 

MORLEY,  EDWARD  W West  Hartford,  Conn.  1897 

MORSE,  EDWARD  S Salem,  Mass.  1876 

MORSE,  HARMON  N Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1907 

MOULTON,  F.  R University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111.   1910 

NEF,  JOHN  ULRIC University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111.  1904 

NICHOLS,  EDWARD  L Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.  1901 

NICHOLS,  ERNEST  F Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  N.  H.  1908 

NOYES,  ARTHUR  A. .  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  Boston,  Mass.  1905 

NOYES,  WILLIAM  A University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  111.  1-910 

OSBORN,  H.  F. .  .American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York  City.   1900 

OSBORNE,  T.  B Agr.  Exp.  Station,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1910 

OSGOOD,  WILLIAM  FOGG Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.   1904 

PEIRCE,  BENJAMIN  O Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1906 

PEIRCE,  CHARLES  S Milford,  Pa.  1876 

PICKERING,  EDWARD  C.  .Harvard  College  Observatory,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1873 

PRUDDEN,  T.  MITCHELL Columbia  University,  New  York  City.  1901 

PUMPELLY,  RAPHAEL Gibbs  Ave.,  Newport,  R.  I.  1872 

PUPIN,  MICHAEL  I Columbia  University,  New  York  City.   1905 

PUTNAM,  FREDERICK  W Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1885 

REID,  H.  FIELDING Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1912 

REMSEN,  IRA Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1882 

RICHARDS,  THEODORE  W Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1899 

ROYCE,  JOSIAH Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.   1906 

SARGENT,  CHARLES  S Arnold  Arboretum,  Jamaica  Plain,  Mass.  1895 

SCHUCHERT,  CHARLES Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1910 

SCOTT,  WILLIAM  B Princeton  University,  Princeton,  N.  J.  1906 

SMITH,  EDGAR  F University  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia,  Pa.   1899 

SMITH,  THEOBALD Harvard  Medical  School,  Boston,  Mass.  1908 

STIEGLITZ,  J.  O University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111.  191 1 

STORY,  WILLIAM  E Clark  University,  Worcester,  Mass.  1908 

THAXTER,  ROLAND Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1912 

THOMSON,  ELIHU Swampscott,  Mass.  1907 

TRELEASE,  WM Missouri  Botanical  Garden,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  1902 

TROWBRIDGE,  JOHN Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1878 

VAN  HISE,  C.  R University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison,  Wis.   1902 

VAN  VLECK,  E.  B University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison,  Wis.  1911 

VERRILL,  A.  E Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1872 

WALCOTT,  CHARLES  D Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  D.  C.  1896 

WEBSTER,  ARTHUR  G Clark  University,  Worcester,  Mass.  1903 

WELCH,  WILLIAM  H 807  St.  Paul  St.,  Baltimore,  Md.  1895 


340  APPENDICES 

Date  of  Election 

WELLS,  HORACE  L Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1903 

WHEELER,  HENRY  L Sheffield  Scientific  School,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1909 

WHEELER,  WILLIAM  M Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.  1912 

WHITE,  DAVID U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  1912 

WILSON,  EDMUND  B Columbia  University,  New  York  City.  1899 

WOOD,  HORATIO  C 4107  Chester  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  1879 

WOOD,  ROBERT  W Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md.  1912 

WOODWARD,  ROBERT  S Carnegie  Institution,  Washington,  D.  C.  1896 

WRIGHT,  ARTHUR  W Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1881 

HONORARY    MEMBER 

SMITH,  SIDNEY  I Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1884 

FOREIGN    ASSOCIATES 

ARRHENIUS,  S.  A Nobel  Institute,  Stockholm.  1908 

AUWERS,  G.  F.  J.  ARTHUR.  .  .Konigl.  Akad.  der  Wissenschaften,  Berlin.  1883 

BACKLUND,  OSKAR Astron.  Sternwarte,  Pulkowa.  1903 

BAEYER,  ADOLPH  RITTER  VON University  of  Munich.  1898 

BARROIS,  CHARLES University  of  Lille.  1908 

BR0GGER,  W.  C University  of  Christiania.  1903 

DEWAR,  SIR  JAMES University  of  Cambridge.  1907 

EHRLICH,  PAUL.  .  .Konigl.  Inst.  fur  Exper.  Therapie,  Frankfurt  a.  Main.  1904 

FISCHER,  EMIL Chem.  Inst.,  University  of  Berlin.  1904 

FORSYTH,  A.  R Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  1907 

GEIKIE,  SIR  ARCHIBALD Haslemere,  Surrey.  1901 

GILL,  SIR  DAVID Royal  Observatory,  Cape  Town.  1898 

GROTH,  PAUL  VON University  of  Munich.  1905 

HILBERT,  DAVID University  of  Gottingen.  1907 

KAPTEYN,  JOHN  C University  of  Groningen.  1907 

KLEIN,  FELIX University  of  Gottingen.  1898 

KRONECKER,  HUGO University  of  Berne.  1901 

LANKESTER,  SIR  E.  RAY South  Kensington,  London.  1903 

LARMOR,  SIR  JOSEPH St.  Johns  College,  Cambridge.  1908 

LORENTZ,  HENDRIK  ANTON University  of  Leyden.  1906 

MURRAY,  SIR  JOHN Edinburgh.  1912 

OSTWALD,  WILHELM Grossbothen,  bei  Leipsic.  1906 

PAVLOV,  IVAN  PETROVITCH Imp.  Inst.  for  Exper.  Med.,  St.  Petersburg.  1908 

PENCK,  ALBRECHT University  of  Berlin.  1909 

PFEFFER,  WILHELM Botanical  Institute  of  the  University  of  Leipsic.  1903 

PICARD,  CHARLES  EMILE University  of  Paris.  1903 


APPENDICES 


341 


Date  of  Election 

RAMSAY,  SIR  WILLIAM University  College,  London.  1904 

RAYLEIGH,  LORD University  of  Cambridge.  1898 

RETZIUS,  GUSTAV University,  Stockholm.  1909 

ROSENBUSCH,  H University  of  Heidelberg.  1904 

RUTHERFORD,  ERNEST University  of  Manchester.  191 1 

SEELIGER,  HUGO  RITTER  VON University  of  Munich.  1908 

SUESS,  EDOUARD University  of  Vienna.  1898 

THOMSON,  SIR  JOSEPH  J University  of  Cambridge.  1903 

VOLTERRA,  VITO University  of  Rome.  1911 

VRIES,  HUGO  DE University  of  Amsterdam.  1904 

WALDEYER,  WILHELM University  of  Berlin.  1909 

WUNDT,  WILHELM University  of  Leipsic.  1909 

DECEASED    MEMBERS 

Date  of  Election         Date  of  Death 

AGASSIZ,  ALEXANDER 1866  Mar.  27,  1910 

AGASSIZ,  Louis (2)  Dec.    14,  1873 

ALEXANDER,  J.  H (2)  Mar.     2,  1867 

ALEXANDER,  STEPHEN  (2)  June    25,  1883 

BACHE,  ALEXANDER  DALLAS (2)  Feb.     17,  1867 

BAIRD,  SPENCER  F 1864  Aug.    19,  1887 

BARKER,  GEORGE  F 1876  May    24,  1910 

BARNARD,  F.  A.  P (2)  Apr.    27,  1889 

BARNARD,  J.  G (2)  May    14,  1882 

BARTLETT,  W.  H.  C (2)  Feb.     11,1893 

BEECHER,  CHARLES  EMERSON 1899  Feb.     14,  1904 

Boss,  LEWIS   1889  Oct.      5,  1912 

BOWDITCH,  HENRY  P 1887  Mar.    13,  1911 

BREWER,  WILLIAM  H 1880  Nov.      2,  1910 

BROOKS,  WILLIAM  KEITH 1884  Nov.    12,  1908 

BROWN-SEQUARD,  CHARLES  E 1868  Apr.      2,  1894 

CASEY,  THOMAS  L 1890  Mar.  25,   1896 

CASWELL,  ALEXIS  (2)  Jan.       8,   1877 

CHAUVENET,  WILLIAM  (2)  Dec.    13,  1870 

CLARKE,  HENRY  JAMES 1872  July       i,  1873 

COFFIN,  JAMES 1869  Jan.       6,  1873 

COFFIN,  J.  H.  C (2)  Jan.       8,  1890 

COMSTOCK,  CYRUS  B 1884  May    29,  1910 

COOK,  GEORGE  H 1887  Sept.    22,  1889 

COOKE,  JOSIAH  P 1872  Sept.      3,  1894 

'  Incorporators. 


342  APPENDICES 

Date  of  Election      Date  of  Death 

COPE,  EDWARD  D 1872  Apr.  12,  1897 

COUES,  ELLIOTT  1877  Dec.  25,  1899 

DAHLGREN,  J.  A.  B (2)  Resigned 

DALTON,  J.  C 1864  Feb.  2,  1889 

DANA,  JAMES  D (2)  Apr.  14,  1895 

DAVIDSON,  GEORGE    1874  Dec.  2,  1911 

DAVIS,  CHARLES  H (2)  Feb.  18,  1877 

DRAPER,  HENRY 1877  Nov.  20,  1882 

DRAPER,  JOHN  W 1877  Jan.  4,  1882 

DUTTON,  C.   E 1884  Jan.  4,  1912 

EADS,  JAMES  B 1872  Mar.  8,  1887 

EMMONS,  SAMUEL  F 1892  Mar.  28,  191 1 

ENGELMANN,  GEORGE  (2)  Feb.  4,  1884 

FERREL,  WILLIAM 1868  Sept.  18,  1891 

FRAZER,  JOHN  FRIES (2)  Oct.  12,  1872 

GABB,  WILLIAM  M 1876  May  30,  1878 

GENTH,  F.  A 1872  Feb.  2,  1893 

GIBBS,  JOSIAH  WILLARD 1879  Apr.  28,  1903 

GIBBS,  WOLCOTT   (2)  Dec.  9 ,  1908 

GILLISS,  JAMES  MELVILLE (2)  Feb.  9,  1865 

GOODE,  G.  BROWN 1888  Sept.  6,  1896 

GOULD,  AUGUSTUS  A (2)  Sept.  15,  1866 

GOULD,  BENJAMIN  A (2)  Nov.  26,  1896 

GRAY,  ASA (2)  Jan.  30,  1888 

GUYOT,  ARNOLD (2)  Feb.  8,  1884 

HADLEY,  JAMES   1864  Aug.  i,  1872 

HALDEMAN,  S.  S 1876  Sept.  20,  1880 

HALL,  ASAPH  1875  Nov.  22,  1907 

HALL,  JAMES   (2)  Aug.  7,  1898 

HAYDEN,  F.  V 1873  Dec.  22,  1887 

HENRY,  JOSEPH   (2)  May  13,  1878 

HILGARD,  JULIUS  E (2)  May  8,  1890 

HILL,  HENRY  B 1883  Apr.  6,  1903 

HITCHCOCK,  EDWARD    (2)  Feb.  27,  1864 

HOLBROOK,  J.  E 1868  Sept.  8,  1871 

HUBBARD,  J.  S (2)  Aug.  16,  1863 

HUMPHREYS,  A.  A (2)  Dec.  27,1883 

HUNT,  T.  STERRY 1873  Feb.  12,  1892 

HYATT,  ALPHEUS 1875  Jan.  16,  1902 

JAMES,  WILLIAM   1903  Resigned 

3  Incorporators. 


APPENDICES 


343 


Date  of  Election 

JOHNSON,  S.  W 1866 

KEELER,  J.  E 1900 

KING,  CLARENCE   1 876 

KIRKLAND,  JARED  P 1865 

LANE,  J.  HOMER 1872 

LANGLEY,  SAMUEL  P 1876 

LEA,  MATTHEW  CAREY 1892 

LE  CONTE,  JOHN   1878 

LE  CONTE,  JOHN  L (2) 

LE  CONTE,  JOSEPH 1875 

LEIDY,  JOSEPH   (2) 

LESLEY,  J.  PETER (2) 

LESQUEREUX,  LEO  1864 

LONGSTRETH,  MlERS  F (2) 

LOOMIS,  ELIAS 1873 

LOVERING,  JOSEPH  1873 

LYMAN,  THEODORE   1872 

MAHAN,  D.  H (2) 

MARSH,  G.  P 1866 

MARSH,  O.  C 1874 

MAYER,  ALFRED  M 1872 

MAYO-SMITH,  RICHMOND 1890 

MEEK,  F.  B 1869 

MEIGS,  M.  C 1865 

MITCHELL,  HENRY   1885 

MORGAN,  LEWIS  H 1875 

MORTON,  HENRY 1874 

NEWBERRY,  J.  S (2) 

NEWCOMB,  SIMON    1869 

NEWTON,  H.  A (2) 

NEWTON,  JOHN   1876 

NORTON,  WILLIAM  A 1873 

OLIVER,  JAMES  E 1 872 

PACKARD,  A.  S 1872 

PEIRCE,  BENJAMIN (2) 

PENFIELD,  SAMUEL  L 1900 

PETERS,  C.  H.  F 1876 

POURTALES,  L.  F 1 873 

POWELL,  JOHN  W 1 880 

RODGERS,  JOHN (2) 


Date  of  Death 

July  21,    1909 

Aug.  12,  1900 

Dec.  24,  1901 

Dec.  10,  1877 

May  3,  1880 

Feb.  27,  1906 

Mar.  15,  1897 

Apr.  29,  1891 

Nov.  15,  1883 

July  6,  1901 

Apr.  30,  1891 

June  i,  1903 

Oct.  25,  1889 

Dec.  27,  1891 

Aug.  1 6,  1889 

Jan.  1 8,  1892 

Sept.  10,  1897 

Sept.  1 6,    1871 

July  23,  1882 

Mar.  1 8,  1899 

July  13,  1897 

Nov.  n,  1901 

Dec.  21,  1877 

Jan.  2,  1892 

Dec.  i,  1902 

Dec.  14,  1 88 1 

May  9,  1902 

Dec.  7,  1892 

July  u,  1909 

Aug.  12,  1896 
May      i,  1895 

Sept.  21,   1883 

Mar.  27,   1895 

Feb.  14,  1905 
Resigned 

Aug.  13,  1906 

July  1 8,  1890 

July  19,   1880 

Sept.  23,  1902 

May  5,   1882 


Incorporators. 


344 


APPENDICES 


Date  of  Election 

ROGERS,  FAIRMAN    (2) 

ROGERS,  ROBERT  E (2) 

ROGERS,  WM.  A 1885 

ROGERS,  WM.  B (2) 

ROOD,  OGDEN  N 1 885 

ROWLAND,  HENRY  A 1881 

RUTHERFURD,  LEWIS  M (2) 

SAXTON,  JOSEPH  (2) 

SCHOTT,  CHARLES  A 1872 

SCUDDER,  SAMUEL  H 1877 

SELLERS,  WILLIAM 1873 

SILLIMAN,  BENJ.,  SR (2) 

SILLIMAN,  BENJ.,  JR (2) 

SMITH,  J.  LAWRENCE 1872 

STIMPSON,  WILLIAM    1868 

STRONG,  THEODORE   (2) 

SULLIVANT,  W.  S 1873 

TORREY,  JOHN   (2) 

TOTTEN,  J.  G (2) 

TROWBRIDGE,  WILLIAM  P 1872 

TRUMBULL,    JAMES    H 1872 

TUCKERMAN,  EDWARD 1 868 

WALKER,  FRANCIS  A 1 878 

WARREN,  G.  K 1876 

WATSON,  JAMES  C 1868 

WATSON,    SERENO    1889 

WHITE,  CHARLES  A 1889 

WHITMAN,  CO 1895 

WHITNEY,  JOSIAH  D (2) 

WHITNEY,  WILLIAM   DWIGHT    1866 

WINLOCK,  JOSEPH   (2) 

WOODWARD,  J.  J 1873 

WORTHEN,  A.  H 1872 

WYMAN,  JEFFRIES  (2) 

YOUNG,  CHARLES  A 1872 


Date  of  Death 
Aug.   22,  I9OO 

Sept.  6,  1884 
Mar.  i,  1898 
May  30,  1882 
Nov.  12,  1902 
Apr.  1 6,  1901 
May  30,  1892 
Oct.  26,  1873 
July  31,  1901 
May  17,  1911 
Jan.  24,  1905 
Nov.  24,  1864 
Jan.  14,  1885 
Oct.  12,  1883 
May  26,  1873 
Feb.  i,  1869 
Apr.  30,  1882 
Mar.  10,  1873 
Apr.  22,  1864 
Aug.  12,  1892 
Aug.  5,  1897 
Mar.  15,  1886 
Jan.  5,  1897 
Aug.  8,  1882 
Nov.  23,  1880 
Mar.  9,  1892 
June  29,  1910 
Dec.  6,  1910 
Resigned 
Resigned 
June  11,  1875 
Aug.  17,  1884 
May  6,  1888 
Sept.  4,  1874 
Jan.  3,  1908 


2  Incorporators. 


APPENDICES 


345 


ADAMS,  J.  C. 
AIRY,  SIR  GEORGE  B. 
ARGELANDER,  F.  W.  A. 
BAER,  KARL  ERNEST  VON. 
BARRANDE,  JOACHIM. 
BEAUMONT,  L.  ELIE  DE. 
BECQUEREL,  HENRI. 
BERTHELOT,  M.  P.  E. 
BERTRAND,  J.  L.  F. 

BOLTZMANN,   LuDWIG. 

BORNET,  EDOUARD. 

BOUSSINGAULT,  J.  B.  J.  D. 

BRAUN,  ALEXANDER. 

BREWSTER,  SIR  DAVID. 

BUNSEN,  ROBERT  W. 

BURMEISTER,  C.  H.  C. 

CANDOLLE,  ALPHONSE  DE. 

CAYLEY,  ARTHUR. 

CHASLES,  MICHEL. 

CHEVREUL,  M.  E. 

CLAUSIUS,  RUDOLPH. 

CORNU,  ALFRED. 

DARWIN,  SIR  GEORGE  HOWARD. 

DOVE,  H.  W. 

DUMAS,  J.  B. 

FARADAY,  MICHAEL. 

GEGENBAUR,  KARL. 

GYLDEN,  HUGO. 

HAMILTON,   SIR  WILLIAM   ROWAN. 

HELMHOLTZ,  BARON  H.  VON. 

HOFF,  J.  H.  VAN'T. 

HOFMANN,  A.  W. 

HOOKER,  SIR  JOSEPH  D. 

HUGGINS,  SIR  WILLIAM. 

HUXLEY,  T.  H. 

IBANEZ,  CARLOS. 

JANSSEN,  J. 

JOULE,  JAMES  P. 

KEKULE,  AUGUST. 

KELVIN,  LORD. 

KIRCHOFF,  G.  R. 


DECEASED    FOREIGN    ASSOCIATES 

KOCH,  ROBERT. 
KOHLRAUSCH,  FRIEDRICH. 
KOLLIKER,  ALBERT  VON. 
LACAZE-DUTHIERS,  HENRI  DE. 
LEUCKART,  RUDOLPH. 
LIE,  SOPHUS. 
LIEBIG,  JUSTUS  VON. 
LISTER,  LORD. 
LOEWY,  MAURICE. 
LUDWIG,  K.  F.  W. 
MAREY,  E.  J. 
MENDELEEFF,  D.  I. 
MILNE-EDWARDS,  HENRI. 
MOISSAN,  HENRI. 
MURCHISON,  SIR  RODERICK  I. 
OPPOLZER,  THEODORE  VON. 
OWEN,  SIR  RICHARD. 
PASTEUR,  Louis. 
PETERS,  C.  A.  F. 
PLANA,  G.  A.  A. 
POINCARE,  JULES  HENRI. 
RAMMELSBERG,  C.  F. 
REGNAULT,  VICTOR. 
REYMOND,  EMIL  Du  Bois. 

RlCHTHOFEN,   F.  VON. 

SACHS,  JULIUS  VON. 
SCHIAPARELLI,  GlOVANNI. 
STAS,  JEAN  SERVAIS. 
STOKES,  SIR  GEORGE  G. 
STRASBURGER,  EDOUARD. 
STRUVE,  OTTO  VON. 
SYLVESTER,  J.  J. 
TISSERAND,  F.  F. 
VIRCHOW,  RUDOLPH  VON. 
VOGEL,  H.  C. 
WEIERSTRASS,  KARL. 
WOHLER,  FRIEDRICH. 
WURTZ,  ADOLPH. 
ZIRKEL,  FERDINAND. 
ZITTEL,  K.  A.  R.  VON. 


APPENDIX  III 
LIST   OF   MEDALISTS 

ALEXANDER    AGASSIZ    MEDAL 

[Founded  in  1911,  by  Sir  John  Murray,  for  original  contributions  to  the  science  of 

oceanography.] 

HENRY    DRAPER    MEDAL 

[Founded  in  1885,  by  Mrs.  Henry  Draper,  for  investigations  in 
astronomical  physics.] 

1886.  SAMUEL  PIERPONT  LANGLEY. 

For  researches  and  discoveries  in  relation  to  solar  radiation. 
1888.  EDWARD  CHARLES  PICKERING. 

For  recent  work  in  astronomical  photometry  and  photography. 
1890.  HENRY  AUGUSTUS  ROWLAND. 

For  researches  on  the  solar  spectrum. 
1893.  HERMAN  KARL  VOGEL. 

For  spectroscopic  observations  upon  the  motion  of  stars  in  the  line  of 

sight. 
1899.  JAMES  EDWARD  KEELER. 

For  researches  in  spectroscopic  astronomy. 
1901.  SIR  WILLIAM  HUGGINS. 

For  investigations  in  astronomical  physics. 
1904.  GEORGE  ELLERY  HALE. 

For  investigations  in  astronomical  physics. 
1911.  CHARLES  GREELEY  ABBOT. 

For  his  researches  on  the  infra-red  region  of  the  solar  spectrum  and  his 
accurate  measurements,  by  improved  devices  of  the  solar  "  constant  " 
of  radiation. 

J.  LAWRENCE    SMITH    MEDAL 
[Founded  in  1885  for  the  investigation  of  meteoric  bodies.] 

1888.  H.  A.  NEWTON. 

For  investigation  of  the  orbits  of  meteors. 

346 


APPENDICES  347 

WATSON    MEDAL 

[Founded   in   1883,  by  James  C.  Watson,  for  the  promotion  of 
astronomical  research.] 

1887.  BENJAMIN  APTHORP  GOULD. 

For  valuable  labors  in  promoting  the  progress  in  astronomical  science, 
and  especially  for  his  establishment  of  the  National  Observatory  of 
the  Argentine  Republic. 

1889.    ED.  SCHONFELD. 

For  services  in  cataloguing  and  mapping  the  stars  visible  in  our  latitudes, 
and  especially  for  his  [then]   recently  published  southern  "  Durch- 
musterung."      (The  medal  and  gold  were  forwarded  through  the 
German  embassy  at  Washington.) 
1891.  ARTHUR  AUWERS. 

For  his  contributions  to  stellar  astronomy.     (The  medal  and  gold  were 

forwarded  through  the  German  embassy  at  Washington.) 
1894.  SETH  CARLO  CHANDLER. 

For  researches  on  the  variation  of  latitude. 
1 899.  SIR  DAVID  GILL. 

For  work  in  perfecting  the  application  of  the  heliometer  to  astronomical 
measurements. 


APPENDIX  IV 

LIST  OF  REPORTS  OF  COMMITTEES  APPOINTED  ON  BEHALF 
OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 

Report  of  the  committee  on  weights,  measures,  and  coinage.* 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1863,  pp.  11-21. 
Report  on  the  protection  of  bottoms  of  iron  vessels  from  corrosion,  etc. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1863,  pp.  21-23. 

Report  of  the  chairman  of  the  compass  committee  to  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  January,  1864. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1863,  pp.  23-96,  7  pis. 
Report  of  the  committee  on  Saxton's  alcoholometer. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1863,  pp.  96-97. 

Report  of  the  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  appointed  to 
examine  the  "  Wind  and  Current  Charts "  and  "  Sailing  Directions  "  issued 
from  the  Naval  Observatory. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1863,  pp.  98-112. 
Report  of  the  committee  on  tests  for  purity  of  whiskey. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1864,  p.  5. 
Report  on  the  operations  of  the  joint  commission  on  the  expansion  of  steam. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1864,  pp.  5-7. 

Report  of  the  committee  appointed  to  test  the  suitableness  of  aluminum  bronze 
for  coinage  and  other  purposes. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1864,  pp.  7-10. 
Report  on  the  explosion  of  a  boiler  on  the  United  States  gunboat  Chenango. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1864,  pp.  1014. 
Report  of  the  committee  on  Greytown  Harbor,  Nicaragua. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1866,  pp.  4-16,  I  chart. 
[Report  on  coating  iron  head-blocks  with  zinc.] 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1866,  pp.  17-18. 

Report  of  the  cdmmittee  on  methods  of  inspecting  and  assessing  tax  on  dis- 
tilled spirits. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1866,  pp.  18-38. 

*  For  convenience  of  reference,  the  wording  of  the  titles  follows  as  closely  as  practicable 
that  given  in  the  reports  cited. 

348 


APPENDICES  349 

Report  of  the  committee  on  methods  of  inspecting  distilled  spirits  subject 
to  duty. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1867,  pp.  12-44. 

[Report  on  the  question  of  the  value  of  the  water-proofing  process  employed  in 
the  manufacture  of  the  fractional  currency.] 

In  House  Misc.  Doc.  no.  163,  part  2,  44th  Congress,  ist  Session,  pp. 

22-28,  Apr.  3,  1876. 
Report  on  surveys  of  the  Territories. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1878,  pp.  19-22;  also  House  Misc.  Doc.  no.  5,  45th 

Congress,  3d  Session,  pp.  1-27,  Dec.  3,  1878. 
Report  on  the  sorghum  sugar  industry. 

Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  51,  47th  Congress,  2d  Session.     8°,  pp.  1-152. 

Washington,  1883. 
Report  on  methylated  spirits. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1883,  pp.  57-63. 
Report  on  glucose. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1883,  PP-  65-143;  also  separate. 
Report  on  the  national  surveys  and  signal  service. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1884,  pp.  33-63;  also  in  Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  82,  49th 

Congress,  ist  Session,  pp.  i*-37*.     1886. 
Report  on  customs  duty  on  philosophical  and  scientific  apparatus. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1884,  pp.  65-67. 

Report  on  the  astronomical  day,  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  1886,  and  the  erection 
of  a  new  Naval  Observatory. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1885,  pp.  35-79;  also  Sen.  Exec.  Doc.  no.  67,  49th  Con- 
gress, ist  Session,  February  10,  1886. 
Report  on  tariff  classification  of  wool. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1885,  pp.  81-99;  also  Treas.  Dep.  Doc.  805,  1886. 
Report  on  opium. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1886,  pp.  39-40. 
Report  on  opium,  1887. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1887,  pp.  31-35. 
Report  on  sugar  determinations. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1887,  pp.  37-45. 
Preliminary  report  on  the  investigation  of  the  north  magnetic  pole. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1890,  pp.  33-35. 
A  conventional  standard  of  color.     (Preliminary  correspondence.) 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1893,  pp.  43-46. 

[Report  on  specifications  for  the  practical  application  of  the  definitions  of  the 
ampere  and  volt.] 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1895,  pp.  9-13;  also  Sen.  Misc.  Doc.  no.  115,  53d  Con- 
gress, 3d  Session,  February  19,  1895;  see  also  Ann.  Rep.  for  1894, 
pp.  39-42. 
24 


350  APPENDICES 

Report  of  the  commission  appointed  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  upon 
a  forest  policy  for  the  forested  lands  of  the  United  States. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1897,  PP-  29~735  als°>  separate,  Washington,  Government 

Printing  Office,  1897.    8°,  pp.  1-47. 

[Report  on  the  question  of  establishing  a  forest  reserve  on  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachian region.] 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1902,  p.  16. 
[Report  on  the  Declaration  of  Independence.] 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1903,  pp.  13-15. 
Report  on  scientific  surveys  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Ann.  Rep.  for  1904,  pp.  21-33;  also  Sen.  Doc.  no.  145,  58th  Congress, 

3d  Session,  February  7,  1905.    8°,  pp.  1-22. 

Report  on  the  conduct  of  scientific  work  under  the  United  States  Government. 
Ann.  Rep.  for  1908,  pp.  27-31;  also  House  Doc.  no.  1337,  6oth  Con- 
gress, 2d  Session,  January  18,  1909.     8°,  pp.  1-5. 


APPENDIX  V 

ACT   OF   INCORPORATION,   CONSTITUTION,   AMENDMENTS 

AND  RULES 

ACT  OF   INCORPORATION 

AN  ACT  To  incorporate  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  Louis  Agassiz,  Massachusetts;  J.  H. 
Alexander,  Maryland ;  S.  Alexander,  New  Jersey ;  A.  D.  Bache,  at  large ;  F.  A.  P. 
Barnard,  at  large;  J.  G.  Barnard,  United  States  Army,  Massachusetts;  W.  H.  C. 
Bartlett,  United  States  Military  Academy,  Missouri ;  U.  A.  Boyden,  Massachu- 
setts; Alexis  Caswell,  Rhode  Island;  William  Chauvenet,  Missouri;  J.  H.  C. 
Coffin,  United  States  Naval  Academy,  Maine;  J.  A.  Dahlgren,  United  States 
Navy,  Pennsylvania ;  J.  D.  Dana,  Connecticut ;  Charles  H.  Davis,  United  States 
Navy,  Massachusetts ;  George  Engelmann,  Saint  Louis,  Mo. ;  J.  F.  Frazer,  Penn- 
sylvania; Wolcott  Gibbs,  New  York;  J.  M.  Gilliss,  United  States  Navy,  District 
of  Columbia;  A.  A.  Gould,  Massachusetts;  B.  A.  Gould,  Massachusetts;  Asa 
Gray,  Massachusetts;  A.  Guyot,  New  Jersey;  James  Hall,  New  York;  Joseph 
Henry,  at  large;  J.  E.  Hilgard,  at  large,  Illinois;  Edward  Hitchcock,  Massa- 
chusetts; J.  S.  Hubbard,  United  States  Naval  Observatory,  Connecticut;  A.  A. 
Humphreys,  United  States  Army,  Pennsylvania;  J.  L.  Le  Conte,  United  States 
Army,  Pennsylvania ;  J.  Leidy,  Pennsylvania ;  J.  P.  Lesley,  Pennsylvania ;  M.  F. 
Longstreth,  Pennsylvania;  D.  H.  Mahan,  United  States  Military  Academy,  Vir- 
ginia; J.  S.  Newberry,  Ohio;  H.  A.  Newton,  Connecticut;  Benjamin  Peirce, 
Massachusetts;  John  Rodgers,  United  States  Navy,  Indiana;  Fairman  Rogers, 
Pennsylvania;  R.  E.  Rogers,  Pennsylvania;  W.  B.  Rogers,  Massachusetts;  L.  M. 
Rutherfurd,  New  York;  Joseph  Saxton,  at  large;  Benjamin  Silliman,  Connecti- 
cut; Benjamin  Silliman,  junior,  Connecticut;  Theodore  Strong,  New  Jersey; 
John  Torrey,  New  York;  J.  G.  Totten,  United  States  Army,  Connecticut; 
Joseph  Winlock,  United  States  Nautical  Almanac,  Kentucky;  Jeffries  Wyman, 
Massachusetts;  J.  D.  Whitney,  California;  their  associates  and  successors  duly 
chosen,  are  hereby  incorporated,  constituted,  and  declared  to  be  a  body  corporate, 
by  the  name  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  shall 
consist  of  not  more  than  fifty  ordinary  members,  and  the  said  corporation  hereby 
constituted  shall  have  power  to  make  its  own  organization,  including  its  con- 
stitution, by-laws,  and  rules  and  regulations ;  to  fill  all  vacancies  created  by  death, 


352  APPENDICES 

resignation,  or  otherwise;  to  provide  for  the  election  of  foreign  and  domestic 
members,  the  division  into  classes,  and  all  other  matters  needful  or  usual  in  such 
institution,  and  to  report  the  same  to  Congress. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences 
shall  hold  an  annual  meeting  at  such  place  in  the  United  States  as  may  be  desig- 
nated, and  the  Academy  shall,  whenever  called  upon  by  any  Department  of  the 
Government,  investigate,  examine,  experiment,  and  report  upon  any  subject  of 
science  or  art,  the  actual  expense  of  such  investigations,  examinations,  experi- 
ments, and  reports  to  be  paid  from  appropriations  which  may  be  made  for  the 
purpose,  but  the  Academy  shall  receive  no  compensation  whatever  for  any  serv- 
ices to  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

Approved,  March  3,  1863. 

AMENDMENTS 
AN  ACT  To  amend  the  act  to  incorporate  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  act  to  incorporate  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  approved  March  third,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three, 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  so  amended  as  to  remove  the  limitation  of  the  number 
of  ordinary  members  of  said  academy  as  provided  in  said  act. 

Approved,  July  14,  1870. 

AN  ACT  To  authorize  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  to  receive  and  hold  trust  funds 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  incor- 
porated by  the  act  of  Congress  approved  March  third,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-three,  and  its  several  supplements,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  authorized  and 
empowered  to  receive  bequests  and  donations  and  hold  the  same  in  trust,  to  be 
applied  by  the  said  academy  in  aid  of  scientific  investigations  according  to  the 
will  of  the  donors. 

Approved,  June  20,  1884. 

CONSTITUTION   OF  THE   NATIONAL   ACADEMY 

As  amended  and  adopted  April  17,  1872,  and  further  amended  April  20,  1875;  April  21, 
1881;  April  19,  1882;  April  18,  1883;  April  19,  1888;  April  18,  1895;  April  20,  1899; 
April  17,  1902;  April  r8,  1906;  November  20,  1906;  April  17,  1907;  November  20,  1907; 
April  20,  19x1;  April  16,  1912. 

PREAMBLE 

Empowered  by  the  act  of  incorporation  enacted  by  Congress,  and  approved  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1863,  and  in 
conformity  with  the  amendment  to  said  act,  approved  July  14,  1870,  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  adopts  the  following  amended  constitution  and  rules : 


APPENDICES  353 

ARTICLE  I. OF  MEMBERS 

SEC.  I.  The  academy  shall  consist  of  members,  honorary  members,  and  foreign 
associates.  Members  must  be  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  2.  Members  who,  from  age  or  inability  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the 
academy,  wish  to  resign  the  duties  of  active  membership,  may,  at  their  own 
request,  be  transferred  to  the  roll  of  honorary  members  by  a  vote  of  the  academy. 

SEC.  3.  The  academy  may  elect  50  foreign  associates. 

SEC.  4.  Honorary  members  and  foreign  associates  shall  have  the  privilege  of 
attending  the  meetings  and  of  reading  and  communicating  papers  to  the  academy, 
but  shall  take  no  part  in  its  business,  shall  not  be  subject  to  its  assessments,  and 
shall  be  entitled  to  a  copy  of  the  publications  of  the  academy. 

ARTICLE    II. OF    THE    OFFICERS 

SEC.  I.  The  officers  of  the  academy  shall  be  a  president,  a  vice  president,  a 
foreign  secretary,  a  home  secretary,  and  a  treasurer,  all  of  whom  shall  be  elected 
for  a  term  of  six  years,  by  a  majority  of  votes  present,  at  the  first  stated  meeting 
after  the  expiration  of  the  current  terms,  provided  that  existing  officers  retain  their 
places  until  their  successors  are  elected.  In  case  of  a  vacancy,  the  election  for 
six  years  shall  be  held  in  the  same  manner  at  the  meeting  when  such  vacancy 
occurs,  or  at  the  next  stated  meeting  thereafter,  as  the  academy  may  direct.  A 
vacancy  in  the  office  of  treasurer  or  home  secretary  may,  however,  be  filled  by 
appointment  of  the  president  of  the  academy  until  the  next  stated  meeting  of  the 
academy. 

SEC.  2.  The  officers  of  the  academy,  together  with  six  members  to  be  elected 
by  the  academy,  shall  constitute  a  council  for  the  transaction  of  such  business  as 
may  be  assigned  to  them  by  the  constitution  or  the  academy. 

SEC.  3.  The  president  of  the  academy,  or,  in  case  of  his  absence  or  inability  to 
act,  the  vice  president,  shall  preside  at  the  meetings  of  the  academy  and  of  the 
council;  shall  name  all  committees  except  such  as  are  otherwise  especially  pro- 
vided for;  shall  refer  investigations  required  by  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  members  especially  conversant  with  the  subjects  and  report  thereon  to 
the  academy  at  its  meeting  next  ensuing;  and,  with  the  council,  shall  direct  the 
general  business  of  the  academy. 

It  shall  be  competent  for  the  president,  in  special  cases,  to  call  in  the  aid,  upon 
committees,  of  experts  or  men  of  special  attainments  not  members  of  the  academy. 

SEC.  4.  The  foreign  and  home  secretaries  shall  conduct  the  correspondence 
proper  to  their  respective  departments,  advising  with  the  president  and  council  in 
cases  of  doubt,  and  reporting  their  action  to  the  academy  at  one  of  the  stated 
meetings  in  each  year. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  home  secretary  to  give  notice  to  the  members  of  the 
place  and  time  of  all  meetings,  of  all  nominations  for  membership,  and  of  all  pro- 
posed amendments  to  the  constitution. 


354  APPENDICES 

The  minutes  of  each  meeting  shall  be  duly  engrossed  before  the  next  stated 
meeting  under  the  direction  of  the  home  secretary. 

SEC.  5.  The  treasurer  shall  attend  to  all  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the 
academy,  giving  such  bond  and  furnishing  such  vouchers  as  the  council  may 
require.  He  shall  collect  all  dues  from  members,  and  keep  a  set  of  books  showing 
a  full  account  of  receipts  and  disbursements.  He  shall  present  a  general  report 
at  the  annual  meeting.  He  shall  be  the  custodian  of  the  corporate  seal  of  the 
academy. 

ARTICLE  III. OF  THE  MEETINGS 

SEC.  I.  The  academy  shall  hold  one  stated  meeting  in  each  year,  called  the 
annual  meeting,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  beginning  on  the  third  Tuesday  in 
April,  and  another,  called  the  autumn  meeting,  may  be  held  at  such  place  and 
time  as  the  council  shall  determine. 

Special  business  meetings  of  the  academy  may  be  called,  by  order  of  eight 
members  of  the  council,  at  such  place  and  time  as  may  be  designated  in  the  call. 

Special  scientific  meetings  of  the  academy  may  be  held  at  times  and  places  to 
be  designated  by  a  majority  of  the  council. 

SEC.  2.  The  names  of  the  members  present  at  each  session  of  a  meeting  shall  be 
recorded  in  the  minutes,  and  the  members  present  at  any  session  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business. 

SEC.  3.  Scientific  sessions  of  the  academy,  unless  otherwise  ordered  by  a 
majority  of  the  members  present,  shall  be  open  to  the  public;  sessions  for  the 
transaction  of  business  shall  be  closed. 

SEC.  4.  Stated  meetings  of  the  council  shall  be  held  during  the  stated  or  special 
meetings  of  the  academy.  Special  meetings  of  the  council  may  be  convened  at  the 
call  of  the  president  and  two  members  of  the  council,  or  of  four  members  of  the 
council. 

SEC.  5.  No  member  who  has  not  paid  his  dues  shall  take  part  in  the  business 
of  the  academy. 

ARTICLE  IV. OF  ELECTIONS  AND  RESIGNATIONS 

SEC.  I.  All  elections  shall  be  by  ballot,  and  each  election  shall  be  held  sepa- 
rately unless  otherwise  ordered  by  this  constitution. 

SEC.  2.  The  time  for  holding  an  election  of  officers  shall  be  fixed  by  the 
academy  at  least  one  day  before  the  election  is  held. 

SEC.  3.  The  election  of  the  six  members  of  the  council  shall  be  as  follows: 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  April,  1907,  six  members  of  the  council  to  be 
elected,  of  whom  two  shall  serve  for  three  years,  two  for  two  years,  and  two  for 
one  year,  their  respective  terms  to  be  determined  by  lot.  Each  year  thereafter 
the  terms  of  two  members  shall  expire,  and  their  successors,  to  serve  for  three 
years,  shall  be  elected  at  the  annual  meeting  in  each  year. 


APPENDICES  355 

SEC.  4.  The  academy  shall  be  divided  by  the  council  into  standing  committees 
representing  the  principal  branches  of  scientific  research.  A  member  may  be 
assigned  to  more  than  one  of  these  committees.  The  president  of  the  academy 
shall  appoint,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  council,  a  member  of  each  committee 
as  its  chairman,  who  shall  be  responsible  for  the  work  of  the  committee. 

Nominations  to  membership  in  the  academy  shall  be  made  in  writing,  approved 
by  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  committee  on  the  branch  of  research  in  which 
the  person  nominated  is  eminent,  or  by  a  majority  of  the  council  in  case  there  is  no 
committee  on  the  subject.  The  nominations  shall  be  sent  to  the  home  secretary 
by  the  chairman  of  the  committee  before  January  i  of  the  year  in  which  the 
election  is  to  be  held,  and  each  nomination  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  list  of  the 
principal  contributions  of  the  nominee  to  science.  This  list  shall  be  printed  by 
the  home  secretary  for  distribution  among  the  members  of  the  academy. 

SEC.  5.  Election  of  members  shall  be  held  at  the  annual  meeting  in  Wash- 
ington in  the  following  manner :  There  shall  be  two  ballots — a  preference  ballot, 
which  may  be  prepared  either  before  or  at  the  annual  meeting  and  must  be  trans- 
mitted to  the  home  secretary,  and  a  final  ballot  to  be  taken  at  the  meeting. 

Preference  ballot. — Each  member  may  inscribe  on  a  ballot  not  more  than  10 
names  of  nominees  selected  from  the  submitted  list.  A  list  of  the  nominees  shall 
then  be  prepared,  on  which  the  names  shall  be  entered  in  the  order  of  the  number 
of  votes  received  by  each.  In  case  two  or  more  nominees  should  have  the  same 
number  of  votes  on  this  preference  list,  the  order  in  which  they  shall  be  placed 
on  the  list  shall  be  determined  by  a  majority  vote  of  those  present. 

Final  ballot. — A  vote  shall  first  be  taken  on  the  nominee  who  appears  first  on 
the  preference  list,  and  he  shall  be  declared  elected  if  he  receive  two-thirds  of  the 
votes  cast  and  not  less  than  2O  votes  in  all,  provided  that  the  number  of  members 
of  the  academy  be  not  150  or  over,  in  which  case  to  be  declared  elected  he  mast 
receive  four-fifths  of  the  votes  cast  and  not  less  than  25  votes  in  all.  A  vote  shall 
then  be  taken  in  similar  manner  on  the  nominee  standing  second  on  the  prefer- 
ence list,  and  so  on  until  all  the  nominees  on  the  preference  list  shall  have  been 
acted  on,  or  until  10  nominees  shall  have  been  elected. 

Not  more  than  10  members  shall  be  elected  at  one  annual  meeting. 

Before  and  during  elections  a  discussion  of  the  merits  of  nominees  will  be 
in  order. 

The  election  of  members  may  be  suspended  at  any  time  by  a  majority  vote 
of  the  members  present. 

SEC.  6.  Every  member  elect  shall  accept  his  membership,  personally  or  in 
writing,  before  the  close  of  the  next  stated  meeting  after  the  date  of  his  election. 
Otherwise,  on  proof  that  the  secretary  has  formally  notified  him  of  his  election, 
his  name  shall  not  be  entered  on  the  roll  of  members. 


356  APPENDICES 

SEC.  7.  The  election  of  foreign  associates  shall  be  in  the  following  manner : 

Foreign  associates  may  be  nominated  by  the  council  and  may  be  elected  at  the 
annual  meeting  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  members  present.  Each  member  shall 
indicate  on  a  ballot  those  names  for  which  he  votes,  and  those  nominees  whose 
names  appear  on  two-thirds  of  the  votes  cast  shall  be  declared  elected.  A  list  of 
those  nominated  shall  be  sent  to  all  members  of  the  academy  with  the  notice  of 
the  meeting  at  which  the  election  is  to  be  held. 

SEC.  8.  A  diploma,  with  the  corporate  seal  of  the  academy  and  the  signatures 
of  the  officers,  shall  be  sent  by  the  appropriate  secretary  to  each  member  on  his 
acceptance  of  his  membership  and  to  foreign  associates  on  their  election. 

SEC.  9.  Resignations  shall  be  addressed  to  the  president  and  acted  on  by  the 
academy. 

SEC.  10.  Whenever  a  member  has  not  paid  his  dues  for  four  successive  years, 
the  treasurer  shall  report  the  fact  to  the  council,  which  may  report  the  case  to 
the  academy  with  the  recommendation  that  the  person  thus  in  arrears  be  declared 
to  have  forfeited  his  membership.  If  this  recommendation  be  approved  by  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present,  the  said  person  shall  no  longer  be  a  member  of  the 
academy  and  his  name  shall  be  dropped  from  the  roll. 

ARTICLE  V. OF   SCIENTIFIC   COMMUNICATIONS,    PUBLICATIONS,   AND  REPORTS 

SEC.  I.  Communications  on  scientific  subjects  shall  be  read  at  scientific  sessions 
of  the  academy,  and  papers  by  any  member  may  be  read  by  the  author  or  by  any 
other  member,  notice  of  the  same  having  been  previously  given  to  the  secretary. 

SEC.  2.  Any  member  of  the  academy  may  read  a  paper  from  a  person  who  is 
not  a  member,  and  shall  not  be  considered  responsible  for  the  facts  or  opinions 
expressed  by  the  author,  but  shall  be  held  responsible  for  the  propriety  of  the 
paper. 

Persons  who  are  not  members  may  read  papers  on  invitation  of  the  council  or  of 
the  committee  of  arrangements. 

SEC.  3.  The  academy  may  provide  for  the  publication,  under  the  direction  of 
the  council,  of  proceedings,  memoirs,  and  reports. 

SEC.  4.  Propositions  for  investigations  or  reports  by  the  academy  shall  be 
submitted  to  the  council  for  approval,  except  those  requested  by  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  which  shall  be  acted  on  by  the  president,  who  will  in  such 
cases  report  their  results  to  the  Government  as  soon  as  obtained  and  to  the 
academy  at  its  next  following  stated  meeting. 

SEC.  5.  The  advice  of  the  academy  shall  be  at  all  times  at  the  disposition  of 
the  Government  upon  any  matter  of  science  or  art  within  its  scope. 

SEC.  6.  An  annual  report  to  be  presented  to  Congress  shall  be  prepared  by  the 
president,  and  before  its  presentation  submitted  by  him,  first  to  the  council  and 
afterwards  to  the  academy,  at  one  of  the  stated  meetings. 


APPENDICES  357 

SEC.  7.  Medals  and  prizes  may  be  established,  and  the  means  of  bestowing  them 
accepted  by  the  academy  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  council,  by  whom  all 
the  necessary  arrangements  for  their  establishment  and  award  shall  be  made. 

Bequests  and  trusts  having  for  their  object  the  advancement  of  science  may  also 
be  accepted  and  administered  by  the  academy. 

ARTICLE  VI. OF   THE    PROPERTY   OF  THE   ACADEMY 

SEC.  I .  All  investments  shall  be  made  by  the  treasurer  in  the  corporate  name  of 
the  academy  with  the  approval  of  a  finance  committee  of  three  members,  to  be 
appointed  annually  by  the  president,  of  which  the  treasurer  shall  be  one.  Invest- 
ments shall  be  made  in  bonds  of  the  United  States,  in  state  bonds,  or  bonds  or 
notes  secured  by  first  mortgages  on  real  estate,  in  investments  legal  for  savings 
banks  under  the  laws  of  Massachusetts  or  New  York,  or  in  other  bonds  recom- 
mended to  the  treasurer  by  the  fiscal  advisers  of  the  academy. 

The  council  shall,  at  its  annual  meeting  in  each  year,  designate  one  bank  or 
trust  company  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  one  in  New  York  city,  to  act,  when 
requested  by  the  treasurer,  as  the  fiscal  advisers  of  the  academy. 

The  treasurer  shall  have  the  authority,  with  the  approval  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee, to  change  any  investment  held  by  him  in  the  corporate  name  of  the 
academy. 

SEC.  2.  No  contract  shall  be  binding  upon  the  academy  which  has  not  been  first 
approved  by  the  council. 

SEC.  3.  The  assessments  required  for  the  support  of  the  academy  shall  be  fixed 
by  the  academy  on  the  recommendation  of  the  council. 

ARTICLE  VII. OF  ADDITIONS  AND  AMENDMENTS 

Additions  and  amendments  to  the  constitution  shall  be  made  only  at  a  stated 
meeting  of  the  academy.  Notice  of  a  proposition  for  such  a  change  must  be 
given  at  a  stated  meeting,  and  shall  be  referred  to  the  council,  which  may  amend 
the  proposition,  and  shall  report  thereon  to  the  academy.  Its  report  shall  be  con- 
sidered by  the  academy  in  committee  of  the  whole  for  amendment. 

The  proposition  as  amended,  if  adopted  in  committee  of  the  whole,  shall  be 
voted  on  at  the  next  stated  meeting,  and  if  it  receives  two-thirds  of  the  votes  cast 
it  shall  be  declared  adopted. 

Absent  members  may  send  their  votes  on  pending  changes  in  the  constitution 
to  the  home  secretary  in  writing,  and  such  votes  shall  be  counted  as  if  the  members 
were  present. 

RULES 

I.  In  the  absence  of  any  officer  a  member  shall  be  chosen  to  perform  his  duties 
temporarily,  by  a  plurality  of  viva  voce  votes,  upon  open  nominations. 

II.  On  the  first  day  of  each  stated  session,  immediately  after  calling  the  roll 
of  members,  a  recording  secretary  shall  be  elected,  by  a  plurality  of  members  pres- 
ent, to  assist  the  home  secretary  in  keeping  the  records  of  the  session. 


358  APPENDICES 

III.  The  accounts  of  the  treasurer  shall,  between  January  I  and  January  15 
of  each  year,  be  audited  by  a  committee  of  three  members  to  be  appointed  by  the 
president  at  the  autumn  meeting  of  the  academy.     The  auditing  committee  may 
employ  an  expert  accountant  to  examine  the  books  of  the  treasurer.     This  com- 
mittee shall  inspect  and  verify  the  bonds,  securities,  and  other  property  in  the 
custody  of  the  treasurer  and  shall  compare  the  expenditures  with  the  vouchers 
therefor.    The  annual  report  of  the  treasurer  shall  be  published  with  that  of  the 
president  to  Congress.    The  reports  of  the  treasurer  and  auditing  committee  shall 
be  presented  to  the  academy  at  the  annual  meeting. 

IV.  A    committee    of    arrangements,    consisting    of    five    members    shall    be 
appointed  by  the  president  for  each  stated  session  of  the  academy.     This  com- 
mittee shall  meet  not  less  than  two  weeks  previous  to  each  session.     It  shall 
be  in  session  during  the  meetings  to  make  arrangements  for  the  reception  of  the 
members,  to  arrange  the  business  of  each  day,  and,  in  general,  to  attend  to  all 
business  and  scientific  arrangements. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  committee  of  arrangements  to  ascertain  the  length 
of  time  required  for  reading  the  several  memoirs  presented,  and,  when  it  appears 
advisable,  to  recommend  a  limit  of  time  to  be  occupied  in  their  discussion. 

V.  At  the  meetings  the  order  of  business  shall  be  as  follows: 

1.  Chair  taken  by  the  president,  or,  in  his  absence,  by  the  vice  president. 

2.  Roll  of  members  called  by  home  secretary. 

3.  Minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting  read  and  approved. 

4.  Stated  business. 

5.  Reports  of  president,  secretaries,  treasurer,  and  committees. 

6.  Business  from  council. 

7.  Other  business. 

8.  On  the  last  day  of  the  session  the  rough  minutes  of  that  day's  proceedings 
are  to  be  read  for  correction. 

VI.  The  rules  of  order  of  the  academy  shall  be  those  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  unless  suspended  by  unanimous  consent. 

VII.  Unless  otherwise  ordered  by  the  academy,  the  scientific  meetings  at  the 
April  session  shall  be  held  in  the  afternoon,  the  mornings  being  reserved  for 
business. 

VIII.  At  each  meeting  the  president  shall  announce  the  death  of  any  members 
who  may  have  died  since  the  preceding  meeting.  As  soon  as  practicable  thereafter 
he  shall  designate  a  member  to  write — or  with  the  approval  of  the  president  to 
secure  from  some  other  source — a  biographical  notice  of  each  deceased  member. 

IX.  The  secretaries  will  receive  memoirs  at  any  time,  and  report  the  date  of 
their  reception  at  the  next  session ;  but  no  memoir  shall  be  published  unless  it  has 
been  read  or  presented  by  title  before  the  academy. 

Before  publication  all  memoirs  must  be  referred  to  the  committee  on  publica- 
tion, who  may,  if  they  deem  best,  refer  any  memoir  to  a  special  committee 


APPENDICES  359 

appointed  by  the  president  to  determine  whether  the  same  should  be  published 
by  the  academy. 

X.  Memoirs  shall  date,  in  the  records  of  the  academy,  from  the  date  of  their 
presentation  to  the  academy,  and  the  order  of  their  presentation  shall  be  so 
arranged  by  the  secretary  that,  so  far  as  may  be  convenient,  those  upon  kindred 
topics  shall  follow  one  another. 

XI.  Papers  from  persons  not  members  read  before  the  academy  and  intended 
for  publication  shall  be  referred  at  the  meeting  at  which  they  are  read  to  a  com- 
mittee of  members  competent  to  judge  whether  the  paper  is  worthy  of  publication. 
Such  committee  shall  report  to  the  academy  as  early  as  practicable,  and  not  later 
than  the  next  stated  session. 

XII.  The  annual  report  of  the  academy  may  be  accompanied  by  a  memorial 
to  Congress  in  regard  to  such  investigations  and  other  subjects  as  may  be  deemed 
advisable,  recommending  appropriations  therefor  when  necessary. 

XIII.  The  proper  secretary  shall  acknowledge   all   donations  made   to   the 
academy,  and  shall  report  them  at  the  next  stated  session. 

XIV.  The  books,  apparatus,  archives,  and  other  collections  of  the  academy 
shall  be  deposited  in  some  safe  place  in  the  city  of  Washington.     A  list  of  the 
articles  so  deposited  shall  be  kept  by  the  home  secretary,  who  is  authorized  to 
employ  a  clerk  to  take  charge  of  them. 

XV.  A  stamp  corresponding  to  the  corporate  seal  of  the  academy  shall  be  kept 
by  the  secretaries,  who  shall  be  responsible  for  the  due  marking  of  all  books  and 
other  objects  to  which  it  is  applicable. 

Labels  or  other  proper  marks  of  similar  device  shall  be  placed  upon  objects  not 
admitting  of  the  stamp. 

XVI.  The  treasurer  is  authorized  to  defray,  when  approved  by  the  president, 
all  the  proper  expenses  of  committees  appointed  to  make  scientific  investigations 
at  the  request  of  departments  of  the  Government,  and  in  each  case  to  look  to  the 
department  requesting  the  investigation  for  reimbursement  to  the  academy. 

XVII.  Nominations  for  membership  should  state  the  full  name,  residence,  the 
official  position,  and  the  special  scientific  studies  of  the  candidate.     A  form  of 
nomination  shall  be  prepared  by  the  home  secretary. 

XVIII.  Ballots  for  election  of  members  may  be  sent  by  sealing  them  up  in  a 
blank  envelope,  and  inclosing  this  in  another,  across  the  back  of  which  is  written 
the  name  of  the  sender,  and  which  is  addressed  to  the  home  secretary;  such 
envelopes  will  be  opened  only  by  the  tellers. 

XIX.  All  discussions  as  to  the  claims  and  qualifications  of  nominees  at  meet- 
ings of  the  academy  will  be  held  strictly  confidential,  and  remarks  and  criticisms 
then  made  may  be  communicated  to  no  person  who  was  not  a  member  of  the 
academy  at  the  time  of  the  discussion. 

XX.  Any  rule  of  the  academy  may  be  amended,  suspended,  or  repealed  on  the 
written  motion  of  any  two  members,  signed  by  them,  and  presented  at  a  stated 


360  APPENDICES 

session  of  the  academy,  provided  the  same  shall  be  approved  by  a  majority  of  the 
members  present. 

XXI.  The  fiscal  year  of  the  academy  shall  end  on  December  31  of  each  year. 

XXII.  The  annual  reports  of  the  committees  on  research  funds  shall,  so  far 
as  the  academy  has  authority  to  determine  their  form,  give  a  current  number  to 
each  award,  stating  the  name,  position,  and  address  of  the  recipient,  the  subject 
of  research  for  which  the  award  is  made,  and  the  sum  awarded;  and  in  later 
annual  reports  the  status  of  the  work  accomplished  under  each  award  previously 
made  shall  be  announced,  until  the  research  is  completed,  when  announcement  of 
its  completion  and,  if  published,  the  title  and  place  of  publication  shall  be  stated, 
and  the  record  of  the  award  shall  be  reported  as  closed. 

By  a  resolution  adopted  January  12,  1864,  the  president  is  ex  officio  a  member 
of  all  government  committees  of  the  academy. 


APPENDIX  VI 

TEXT  OF  BEQUESTS  AND  TRUSTS 

THE  ALEXANDER    AGASSIZ    FUND 

The  will  of  Professor  Agassiz  contains  the  following  clause : 
I  give  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Washington  the  sum  of  Fifty  Thousand 
Dollars  ($50,000)   for  the  general  use  of  the  said  Academy. 

THE   A.  D.  BACHE   FUND 

The  will  of  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  dated  March  18,  1862,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing provisions: 

Item. — As  to  all  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  Estate,  including  the  sum  of  Five  thousand 
dollars  placed  at  the  disposal  of  my  wife  in  case  she  should  not  desire  to  make  any  dis- 
position of  the  same,  I  direct  my  executors  hereinafter  named  to  apply  the  income  thereof 
after  the  death  of  my  wife  according  to  and  under  the  directions  of  Joseph  Henry  of 
Washington,  Louis  Agassiz  and  Benjamin  Peirce  of  Harvard  College,  Massachusetts,  to  the 
prosecution  of  researches  in  Physical  and  Natural  Science  by  assisting  experimentalists  and 
observers  in  such  manner  and  in  such  sums  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  the  three  above- 
named  gentlemen,  or  any  two  of  them,  whom  I  constitute  a  Board  of  Direction  for  the 
application  of  the  income  of  my  residuary  estate  for  the  above  objects,  after  the  death  of 
my  said  wife.  The  class  of  subjects  to  be  selected  by  this  Board,  and  the  results  of  such 
observations  and  experiments,  to  be  published  at  the  expense  of  my  Trust  Estate  under 
their  direction  out  of  the  income  thereof  but  without  encroaching  on  the  principal. 

In  case  of  the  death  or  inability  to  act  of  all  or  any  of  the  three  gentlemen  I  have 
named  in  my  wife's  lifetime,  My  will  is  that  she  shall  supply  their  places  in  the  Board 
of  Direction  by  an  Instrument  of  writing  either  testamentary  or  otherwise,  desiring  that  in 
the  selection  of  the  persons,  to  administer  the  income  of  the  trust  funds  hereby  created,  she 
will  have  regard  to  the  selection  of  persons  whose  attention  has  been  directed  to  the  same 
branches  of  science  as  those  I  have  named  and  so  that  each  of  the  Departments  of  Physics, 
Mathematics,  and  Natural  History  shall  be  represented  in  the  Board.  In  case  of  any 
vacancy  occurring  in  the  Board  of  Direction  after  its  organization  and  after  the  death  of 
my  wife,  by  reason  of  the  death  inability  or  refusal  to  act  or  resignation  of  any  of  its  mem- 
bers, my  will  is  that  the  surviving  or  remaining  member  or  members  for  the  time  being 
shall  have  power  to  fill  vacancies  so  occurring  in  the  Board  by  the  selection  of  other  person 
or  persons  to  fill  such  vacancies  and  so  on  from  time  to  time  as  vacancies  shall  occur.  My 
intention  being  that  the  Board  of  Direction  shall  have  power  to  continue  its  existence  and 
to  filling  all  vacancies  occurring  in  their  body  from  time  to  time  I  direct  that  a  minute  of 
their  proceedings  be  kept,  and  that  the  appointment  of  any  member  by  the  Board  shall  be 
notified  in  writing  to  the  trustees  for  the  time  being  of  my  residuary  estate.  In  the  event 
of  any  failure  of  the  Board  for  the  time  being  to  direct  the  application  of  the  income  of  my 
said  residuary  estate,  or  to  continue  its  existence  by  filling  vacancies  occurring  in  their 

36l 


362 


APPENDICES 


body,  my  will  is  that  the  application  of  the  income  thereof  for  the  purposes  and  objects 
declared  in  this  clause  of  my  Will,  shall  be  made  by  the  Trustees,  under  the  direction  of 
The  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia. 

********#*-*#* 

Item. — I  hereby  nominate  and  appoint  my  friends,  Peter  McCall,  Esq.,  and  Morton  P. 
Henry,  Esq.,  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  survivor  of  them,  to  be  the  executors  of  and 
trustees  under  this  my  last  will  and  Testament. 

CODICIL,   JULY   15,    1863. 

Item. — I  give  and  devise  to  my  sister  Sally  Franklin  Wainwright  the  house  purchased 
by  me  situated  No.  396  West  Twentieth  Street,  in  the  City  of  Washington,  between  G  and 
H  Streets  to  be  held  and  enjoyed  by  her  during  the  term  of  her  natural  life.  After  her 
death  I  direct  the  said  house  shall  pass  with  the  residue  of  my  Estate  (subject  to  a  life 
estate  of  my  wife  Nancy  Clarke  Bache  therein  in  case  she  should  survive  my  sister)  to 
The  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  upon  the  Trusts  set  forth  as  to  the  said  residue  of 
my  estate. 

#***»***#»##« 

Item. — My  will  is  that  upon  the  death  of  my  wife  all  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  Estate 
shall  be  paid  over  to  and  vest  in  the  corporation  of  The  National  Academy  of  Sciences 
incorporated  by  Act  of  Congress,  passed  the  Third  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1863,  whom  I 
hereby  appoint  Trustees  in  the  place  of  my  said  Executors  under  the  Fourth  clause  of  my 
said  will  to  apply  the  income  according  to  the  directions  in  the  said  clause  contained  to  the 
prosecution  of  researches  in  Physical  and  Natural  Science  by  assisting  experimentalists  and 
observers  in  such  manner  and  in  such  sums  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  the  Board  of 
Direction  in  the  said  clause  named.  My  will  further  is  that  in  case  of  any  failure  of  the 
Board  for  the  time  being  to  direct  the  application  of  the  income  of  my  residuary  estate  or 
to  continue  its  existence  by  filling  vacancies  occurring  in  their  body,  the  application  of  the 
income  thereof  for  the  purposes  and  objects  declared  in  the  said  clause  shall  be  made  under 
the  Direction  of  The  National  Academy  of  Sciences  instead  of  The  American  Philosophical 
Society  of  Philadelphia.  In  all  other  respects  the  said  application  of  the  income  to  the 
purposes  aforesaid  to  be  made  by  the  same  persons  and  under  the  same  rules  as  I  have  pre- 
scribed in  the  said  clause  of  my  will. 

Duly  sworn  to  before  Saml.  Lloyd,  February  27,  1867,  in  the  city  and  county  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  last  will  and  testament  of  Nancy  Clarke  Bache  is  as  follows: 
I  hereby,  in  pursuance  and  exercise  of  the  power  of  appointment  contained  in  the  last 
will  and  testament  of  my  husband,  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  devise,  bequeath,  and  appoint 
the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  of  the  principal  of  the  estate  of  my  said  husband,  over 
which  I  have  a  power  of  appointment  by  his  will,  to  be  paid  by  his  executors,  or  by  such 
person  or  persons  as  shall  hold  the  principal  of  the  estate  at  my  death,  to  my  nephew, 
Henry  Wood  Bache,  absolutely;  and  I  hereby  request  my  nephew,  in  case  he  should  die 
unmarried  and  without  issue,  to  make  such  a  disposition  of  this  amount  by  will  as  will  secure 
it  to  be  paid  at  his  death  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  at  Washington,  to  be  held 
by  that  corporation  upon  the  same  trusts  and  for  the  same  purposes  as  are  declared  by  my 
husband  in  his  will  as  to  the  residue  of  his  estate  after  my  death.  I  expressly  desire, 
however,  that  it  shall  be  understood  that  this  request  shall  not  be  construed  into  any 
direction  which  would  interfere  with  his  full  control  of  the  principal,  which  is  to  be  paid 
into  his  hands  directly. 


APPENDICES  363 

Second.  I  hereby  direct  the  house,  No.  1624  Chestnut  street,  in  which  I  now  reside,  to  be 
sold  by  my  executor,  hereinafter  named,  within  a  reasonable  time  after  my  death,  either  at 
public  or  private  sale,  and  after  deducting  from  the  purchase  money  any  debts  or  expenses 
connected  with  the  sale  and  the  administration  of  my  estate,  which,  with  the  cash  on  hand 
or  other  property  which  I  may  own  or  possess  at  my  death,  shall  be  sufficient  to  satisfy,  I 
direct  my  executor  to  pay  over  the  net  proceeds  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  at 
Washington,  to  be  held  by  that  corporation  as  trustees  in  trust  to  apply  the  income  thereof 
to  the  prosecution  of  researches  in  physical  and  natural  science,  according  to  the  directions 
contained  in  the  last  will  and  testament  of  my  husband  as  to  the  residue  of  his  estate  after 
my  death  in  the  same  manner  as  if  all  the  directions  contained  in  the  last  will  and  testament 
of  my  husband  and  in  the  codicil  thereto  were  herein  repeated  at  length;  my  object  being  to 
make  precisely  the  same  disposition  of  the  proceeds  of  this  house  as  was  made  by  my 
husband  of  his  residuary  estate  after  my  death. 

Third.  I  direct  all  the  medals  and  diplomas  of  my  husband,  and  the  large  photograph 
of  him  now  in  my  possession,  to  be  deposited  and  remain  with  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences.  I  have  made  a  memorandum  of  the  disposition  of  certain  other  articles,  which 
I  desire  shall  be  carried  into  effect  as  if  contained  in  this  will.  I  appoint  Morton  P.  Henry, 
of  Philadelphia,  executor  of  this  my  last  will  and  testament 

CODICIL,  APRIL  19,   1869. 

Item. — I  hereby  direct  my  executor  to  pay  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  my  said 
house,  No.  1624  Chestnut  street,  Philadelphia,  which  I  have  directed  to  be  sold,  the  sum  of 
five  hundred  dollars  to  my  nephew,  Henry  Wood  Bache,  for  his  own  use  and  benefit.  I 
further  direct  my  executor  to  invest  five  thousand  dollars  of  the  proceeds  of  sale  of  said 
house  in  his  own  name  as  trustee  in  such  securities  as  he  may  think  proper,  and  to  pay  the 
income  thereof  to  my  nephew,  Henry  Wood  Bache,  during  his  natural  life.  After  the 
death  of  my  nephew,  I  direct  that  the  principal  of  the  said  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars 
shall  go  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  at  Washington,  in  trust  for  the  same  uses  and 
purposes  as  are  declared  as  to  the  proceeds  of  sale  of  said  house  by  my  said  will.  I 
expressly  declare  that  the  above  bequests  to  Henry  Wood  Bache  are  in  addition  to  the  five 
thousand  dollars  I  have  appointed  to  him  out  of  my  husband's  estate. 

Item. — I  hereby  declare  that  the  balance  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  my  said  house 
shall  go,  after  paying  and  providing  for  the  above  legacies,  as  is  set  forth  and  declared  in 
my  said  will,  which  in  all  other  respects  I  hereby  republish  and  declare  as  my  last  will  and 
testament. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  John  Campbell,  deputy  register,  in  the  city  and  county  of 
Philadelphia,  January  20,  1870. 

THE   CYRUS   B.  COMSTOCK  FUND 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  Cyrus  B.  Comstock,  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
to  advance  knowledge  in  electricity,  magnetism  and  radiant  energy,  by  the  giving  of 
money  prizes  for  important  investigations  or  discoveries  in  those  subjects,  have  given, 
assigned,  transferred  and  set  over,  and  do  by  these  presents  give,  assign,  transfer  and  set 
over  unto  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  incorporated  by  the  Act  of  Congress  approved 
March  3rd,  1863,  and  its  several  supplements,  and  hereinafter  designated  as  the  Trustee, 
and  unto  its  successor  or  successors,  ten  (10)  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  Registered 
First  Mortgage  and  Land  Grant  Four  Per  Cent  Gold  Bonds,  Numbers  B  588,  B  663,  B  993, 
B  994,  B  1106,  B  1204,  B  1282,  B  1290,  B  1309,  B  1369,  each  for  $1,000,  and  my  check  for 
Four  hundred  Dollars  ($400.00),  bearing  even  date  herewith  and  payable  to  the  order  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences. 


364 


APPENDICES 


To  have  and  to  hold  the  same  unto  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  its  successor 
or  successors  in  trust  and  upon  the  following  conditions,  to  wit: 

First.  The  Trustee  shall  keep  said  sum  of  Four  hundred  Dollars  ($400.00),  and  said 
bonds,  or  the  proceeds  thereof  and  all  additions  thereto,  as  a  separate  fund,  to  be  known  as 
the  "  Cyrus  B.  Comstock  Fund." 

Second.  The  Trustee  shall  have  power  at  any  time  in  its  discretion  to  sell  said  bonds  or 
any  of  them  and  execute  a  proper  assignment  thereof  to  the  purchaser  or  purchasers,  and 
shall  invest  the  proceeds  thereof  and  all  moneys  forming  a  part  of  said  fund,  and  keep  the 
same  invested  in  such  securities  and  in  such  manner  as  its  constitution  shall  provide  for  the 
investment  of  its  property  or  as  shall  be  authorized  by  law  for  the  investment  of  trust  funds. 

Third.  The  Trustee  shall  collect  the  income  arising  from  said  fund  and  apply  the  same 
as  follows: 

(1)  The  market  value  of  the  fund  shall  be  maintained  at  not  less  than  Ten  thousand 
Dollars  ($10,000),  and  any  and  all  depreciation  therein  shall  be  made  up  out  of  the  income 
of  the  fund  before  any  part  of  such  income  shall  be  applied  as  hereinafter  provided.     But 
when,  by  the  additions  hereinafter  authorized  and  directed,  the  principal  of  the  fund  shall 
have  been  increased  in  the  amount  of  Five  thousand  Dollars  ($5,000.),  then  and  thereafter 
the  market  value  of  the  fund  shall  be  maintained  in  the  manner  aforesaid  at  not  less  than 
Fifteen  thousand  Dollars   ($15,000.). 

(2)  The  balance  of  the  income  of  said  fund  shall  be  set  aside  and  accumulated,  and 
out  of  such  accumulations  the  Trustee  shall  award  once  for  every  five  years  a  prize  in 
money  to  the  bona  fide  resident  of  North  America,  who,  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more 
than  six  years  before  the  awarding  of  the  prize,  shall  have  made  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Trustee  the  most  important  discovery  or  investigation  in  electricity  or  magnetism  or  radiant 
energy. 

Such  prize  shall  be  known  and  designated  as  the  "  Comstock  Prize,"  and  shall  be  in  an 
amount  equal  to  about  two-thirds  of  said  balance  of  the  income  of  said  fund  for  the  five 
years  for  which  the  award  shall  be  made,  and  shall  be  paid  to  the  person  to  whom  the 
prize  shall  have  been  awarded  at  such  time  as  may  be  convenient  to  the  Trustee,  but  the 
awarding  thereof  shall  be  entirely  and  in  all  respects  in  the  discretion  of  the  Trustee.  If 
no  such  discovery  or  investigation  shall  be  deemed  by  the  Trustee  to  be  worthy  of  the 
prize,  or  if  for  any  other  reason  the  prize  shall  not  be  awarded  for  any  period  of  five  years, 
then  and  in  that  event  the  money  which  might  have  been  awarded  shall  be  added  to  the 
principal  of  the  fund  and  become  a  part  thereof;  but  the  Trustee  may  in  its  discretion  use 
the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  amount  unawarded  for  any  five  years  in  aiding  such  investi- 
gation or  investigations  as  the  Trustee  shall  deem  worthy  in  electricity,  magnetism  or 
radiant  energy  to  be  made  by  a  bona  fide  resident  or  residents  of  North  America ;  Provided, 
however,  that  the  prize  shall  not  be  diverted  to  give  such  aid  oftener  than  once  in  fifteen 
years. 

(3)  The  balance  of  the  income  so  accumulated,   less  the  amount  to  be  awarded  as  a 
prize,  as  provided  in  the  preceding  section,  shall  be  added  to  the  principal  of  the  fund  and 
become  a  part  thereof  and  subject  to  the  terms  and  conditions  herein  contained,  as  though 
such  additions  had  been  part  of  the  original  donation;  Provided,  however,  that  when  the 
market  value  of  said  fund  shall  have  been  increased  to  Fifteen  thousand  Dollars  ($15,000.), 
the  amount  of  the  prize  may  be  increased  in  the  discretion  of  the  Trustee  to  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  net  income  as  above  provided. 

Fourth.  Upon  the  failure  or  inability  of  the  Trustee,  its  successor  or  successors,  to  carry 
out  the  said  trust  upon  the  terms  and  conditions  above  set  forth,  said  fund  together  with  all 
accumulations  and  unexpended  income  shall  revert  to  me,  the  said  Cyrus  B.  Comstock,  if 
then  living;  if  dead,  to  my  heirs-at-law  who  shall  then  be  living,  per  stirpes  and  not 
per  capita. 


APPENDICES  365 


In  witness  whereof,  I,  the  said  Cyrus  B.  Comstock,  have  hereunto  and  unto  a  duplicate 
hereof,  set  my  hand  and  seal  this  twenty-seventh  day  of  November,  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  seven. 

CYRUS  B.  COMSTOCK. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  Monchure  March,  notary  public,  in  the  city  and  county  of 
New  York,  November  27,  1907. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Trustee 
named  in  the  foregoing  instrument,  hereby  acknowledges  the  receipt  from  the  said  Cyrus  B. 
Comstock  of  said  ten  (10)  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  Registered  First  Mortgage 
Railroad  and  Land  Grant  Four  Per  Cent  Gold  Bonds,  Numbers  B  588,  B  663,  B  993,  B  994, 
Buo6,  61204,  61282,  61290,  61309,  61369  each  for  $1,000,  duly  assigned  to  the  said 
National  Academy  of  Sciences  as  Trustee  under  the  foregoing  instrument,  and  his  check  for 
Four  hundred  Dollars  ($400.00),  payable  to  the  order  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences; 
and  that,  by  authority  of  its  Council,  the  said  Trustee  hereby  accepts  and  agrees  to  hold 
the  same  in  trust  and  upon  the  terms  and  conditions  above  set  forth. 

And  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  hereby  constitutes  and  appoints  Ira  Remsen 
its  true  and  lawful  attorney,  for  it  and  in  its  name  to  acknowledge  this  instrument,  and 
a  duplicate  hereof,  to  be  its  act  before  any  person  having  authority  to  take  such 
acknowledgment. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  said  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  has  caused  its  corporate 
seal  to  be  hereunto  and  unto  a  duplicate  hereof  affixed,  and  these  presents,  and  a  duplicate 
hereof,  to  be  signed  in  its  name  by  its  President  and  Treasurer  this  thirtieth  day  of 
November,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seven. 

NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES. 
By  IRA  REMSEN,  President. 
S.  F.  EMMONS,  Treasurer. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  John  R.  Hooper,  notary  public,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
State  of  Maryland,  December  4,  1907. 

THE   HENRY   DRAPER   FUND 
The  text  of  the  deed  of  gift  is  as  follows: 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  I,  Mary  Anna  Palmer  Draper  of  the  City,  County 
and  State  of  New  York,  in  consideration  of  the  premises,  and  of  the  acceptance  of  the  within 
trust  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  and  also  in  consideration  of  divers  other  good  and 
valuable  considerations,  we,  the  said  Mary  Anna  Palmer  Draper  hereto  moving,  have  given, 
granted,  assigned,  transferred  and  set  over  and  by  these  presents  do  give,  grant,  assign, 
transfer  and  set  over  unto  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  and  to  their  successors 
forever,  a  certain  fund  or  sum  of  Six  thousand  dollars  with  the  interest  and  income  thereof 
To  have  and  to  hold  the  same  in  trust  nevertheless  upon  the  special  trusts  and  for  the 
uses  and  purposes  following,  to  wit: 

First.  In  trust  to  invest  and  to  reinvest  the  said  sum  of  Six  thousand  dollars  and  to  keep 
the  same  invested  in  good  and  safe  securities,  or  in  such  other  manner  as  shall  be,  in  their 
opinion,  best  for  the  preservation  and  maintenance  of  said  fund. 

Second.  In  trust  to  use  the  interest,  and  income  thereof  for  the  purpose  of  striking  a 
gold  medal  which  shall  be  called  the  "  Henry  Draper  Medal,"  shall  be  of  the  value  of  Two 
hundred  dollars,  and  shall  be  struck  in  a  die  to  be  selected  and  presented  to  said  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  by  me,  the  said  Mary  Anna  Palmer  Draper.  And  the  said  medal  shall 
be  awarded  and  presented,  from  time  to  time,  by  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  to 
any  person  in  the  United  States  of  America  or  elsewhere  who  shall  make  an  original  investi- 
25 


366 


APPENDICES 


gation  in  astronomical  physics  the  results  of  which  shall  be  made  known  to  the  public,  such 
results  being  in  the  opinion  of  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance and  benefit  to  science  to  merit  such  recognition,  provided  however  that  said  medal 
shall  not  be  presented  or  awarded  more  frequently  than  once  in  two  years,  and  provided 
also  that  the  investigation  for  which  it  is  awarded  or  the  completed  publication  thereof 
shall  have  been  made  since  the  time  of  the  last  preceding  award  and  presentation  of  said 
medal. 

Third.  In  trust  that  if  discoveries  of  equal  importance  shall  be  made  in  astronomical 
physics  at  or  about  the  same  time  in  the  United  States  of  America  and  also  in  some  other 
part  of  the  world,  each  of  which  discoveries  might  in  the  opinion  of  said  Academy  entitle 
the  discoverer  to  be  considered  as  a  competitor  for  said  medal,  preference  shall  be  given  in 
the  awarding  thereof  to  discoveries  made  by  a  citizen  of  the  said  United  States  of  America. 

Fourth.  In  trust  that  if  the  said  die  shall  at  any  time  be  lost,  destroyed,  broken,  or  in  any 
manner  rendered  unfit  for  the  purpose  of  striking  the  said  medal,  a  new  die  shall  be  pro- 
cured exactly  similar  to  the  one  so  selected  and  presented  as  aforesaid,  and  shall  be  paid 
for  out  of  the  interest  and  income  of  said  fund ;  and  such  sum  or  sums  of  money  as  shall 
at  any  time  or  times  be  necessary  for  the  proper  care,  custody  and  protection  of  the  said 
die  or  of  the  said  fund  hereby  given,  shall  also  be  taken  from  and  out  of  the  interest  and 
income  of  the  said  fund  whenever  the  same  shall  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  said  National 
Academy  of  Sciences. 

Fifth.  In  trust  that,  if  at  any  time  or  times  the  interest  or  income  of  the  said  trust  fund 
of  Six  thousand  dollars  shall  exceed  the  amount  necessary  for  the  striking  of  said  medal, 
and  the  care  of  the  said  die  and  of  the  fund,  such  surplus  over  or  above  the  sum  or  sums  so 
rquired  for  the  purposes  of  the  trust  as  hereinbefore  recited  and  set  forth  shall  be  used  in 
such  manner  as  shall  be  selected  by  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  aid  of  investiga- 
tions and  work  in  astronomical  physics  to  be  made  and  carried  on  by  a  citizen  or  citizens  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

And  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  doth  signify  its  acceptance  of  the  said  fund 
of  Six  thousand  dollars,  and  doth  engage  to  hold  and  manage  the  same  upon  the  trusts  and 
for  the  uses  and  purposes  herein  mentioned  and  set  forth. 

In  Witness  whereof,  I,  the  said  Mary  Anna  Palmer  Draper  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  seal,  and  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  hath  hereunto  caused  its  corporate  seal 
to  be  affixed  and  these  presents  to  be  subscribed  by  its  President,  this  thirteenth  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-three. 

MARY  ANNA   PALMER   DRAPER,     [SEAL.] 
O.  C.  MARSH,  [SEAL  N.  A.  s.] 

President  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of  Edward  H.  Dixon,  Mornay  Williams,  as  to  Mary 
Anna  Palmer  Draper. 

Witnesses  to  signature  of  President  Marsh:  J.  H.  C.  Coffin,  Asaph  Hall,  Saml.  H.  Walker. 

Executed  and  acknowledged  before  Mornay  Williams,  Notary  Public,  New  York  Co. 

Acknowledgment  of  officer  of  the  Academy  before  Saml.  H.  Walker,  Notary  Public,  Diit. 
of  Columbia. 

THE   WOLCOTT   GIBBS   FUND 
MY  DEAR  PROFESSORS  JACKSON  AND  LOEB: 

May  I  beg  you  to  present  to  those  from  whom  I  received,  a  few  days  since,  so  signal  a 
mark  of  friendship  and  good  will  my  heartiest,  most  earnest,  and  most  grateful  acknowl- 
edgment? The  address  which  I  received  on  my  seventieth  birthday,  signed  by  more  than 
zoo  friends,  pupils,  and  assistants,  brings  back  my  youth  in  recalling  the  names  of  those 
who  now  join  to  offer  me  more  than  mere  good  wishes  to  cheer  my  advancing  age.  Their 


APPENDICES  367 

active  friendship  has  taken  the  form  which  was  most  acceptable  to  me — that  of  an  endow- 
ment to  assist  research  in  my  own  branch  of  science;  so  that  I  can  feel  that  in  a  certain 
sense  my  power  to  work  will  not  terminate  with  my  life.  As  the  generosity  of  my  friends 
permits  me  also  to  dispose  of  the  manner  in  which  the  endowment  shall  be  administered,  I 
submit  to  them,  through  you,  the  plan  which  seems  to  me  best  adapted  to  carry  out  their 
wishes — a  plan  which  has  been  fully  tested  in  somewhat  similar  cases  and  found  to  work 
well  in  practice. 

I  therefore  propose  that  the  fund  raised  for  endowment  shall  be  given  to  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  to  hold  the  same  in  trust  and  to  invest  and  reinvest  as  may  be 
necessary  or  advisable.  The  income  or  interest  of  the  fund  shall  be  administered  by  a  board 
of  directors  consisting  of  three  persons,  of  whom  at  least  two  shall  be  members  of  the 
academy.  The  first  board  shall  consist  of  Charles  Loring  Jackson,  Thomas  M.  Drown, 
and  Ira  Remsen,  and  the  directors  shall  have  power  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  own  number, 
notifying  the  academy  of  their  action  without  delay.  In  case  of  the  deaths  of  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  board,  their  places  shall  be  filled  by  persons  holding  professorships  of  chemistry, 
to  be  appointed  by  a  vote  of  the  academy.  The  directors  shall  make  an  annual  report  to  the 
academy,  stating  the  condition  of  the  fund  and  the  appropriations  made  during  the  year. 
They  shall  have  absolute  and  entire  control  of  the  disposition  of  the  income  of  the  fund, 
employing  it  in  such  manner  as  they  may  deem  for  the  best  interest  of  chemical  science. 

It  is  my  belief  that  the  above  or  a  similar  arrangement  is  the  best  which  can  be  made — 
that  is  to  say,  the  one  which  is  most  likely  to  be  of  permanent  benefit  to  science.  I  trust  that 
it  will  meet  with  the  approbation  of  those  who  have  honored  me  with  their  confidence  and 
their  regard. 

Sincerely,  yours,  WOLCOTT  GIBBS. 

NEWPORT,  March  i,  1892. 

THE  BENJAMIN  APTHORP   GOULD   FUND 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  I  Alice  Bache  Gould  of  the  City  of  Boston  and 
County  of  Suffolk,  State  of  Massachusetts,  in  consideration  of  the  acceptance  of  the  within 
Trust  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  and  also  in  consideration  of  divers  other  good 
and  valuable  considerations  have  given  granted  assigned  transferred  and  set  over  and  by 
these  presents  do  give  grant  assign  transfer  and  set  over  unto  the  said  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  and  its  successors  forever  a  certain  fund  or  sum  of  twenty  thousand  (20,000) 
dollars  with  the  interest  and  income  thereof  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  in  trust  neverthe- 
less upon  the  special  trusts  and  for  the  uses  and  purposes  following,  to  wit: 

First.  In  trust,  to  invest  and  reinvest  the  said  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars 
($20,000.)  and  to  keep  the  same  invested  under  the  ordinary  rules  governing  trustees  in  good 
and  safe  securities  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  deemed  best  for  the  preservation  and  main- 
tenance of  such  fund,  which  shall  be  known  as  the  "Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould  Fund,"  in 
memory  of  my  father,  the  late  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 

Second.  In  trust  to  use  the  net  interest  and  income  thereof  according  to  and  under  the 
direction  of  Lewis  Boss  of  Albany  New  York  Seth  C.  Chandler  of  Cambridge  Massachusetts 
and  Asaph  Hall  of  Washington  D.  C.  whom  I  hereby  constitute  a  Board  of  Directors  for  the 
application  of  the  income  of  the  said  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould  Fund,  for  the  prosecution  of 
researches  in  astronomy,  by  assisting  such  observers  and  investigators  in  such  manner  and  in 
such  sums  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  the  three  above-mentioned  persons  or  their  successors 
or  by  a  majority  of  the  then  Board. 

The  Board  of  Directors  however  instead  of  expending  all  the  income  of  the  Fund  for 
the  purposes  aforesaid  may  from  time  to  time  vote  that  such  portions  thereof  as  they  may 
prescribe  shall  be  added  to  the  principal  of  the  said  Fund,  and  such  portion  shall  then  be  so 
added  by  the  Trustees  and  all  such  sums  once  so  added  shall  remain  part  of  the  principal. 


368 


APPENDICES 


The  Board  of  Directors  shall  make  an  annual  report  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences 
giving  such  information  concerning  the  Fund  as  shall  be  desired  by  the  said  Academy. 

In  case  of  any  vacancy  occurring  in  the  Board  of  Directors  by  reason  of  the  death, 
inability  or  refusal  to  act  or  resignation  of  any  of  its  members,  then  the  surviving  or 
remaining  members  or  member  for  the  time  being  shall  have  power  to  fill  any  vacancy  so 
occurring  in  the  Board  by  the  selection  of  another  person  or  persons  to  fill  the  same,  and  so 
on  from  time  to  time  as  vacancies  shall  occur  provided  however  that  at  least  two  of  the 
three  directors  shall  always  be  members  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  But  if  at 
any  time  the  three  Directorships  of  the  Board  shall  simultaneously  be  vacant,  then  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences  shall  have  power  to  fill  these  vacancies  and  the  new 
Board  of  Directors  in  this  as  in  all  other  cases  shall  succeed  to  all  the  rights  duties  and 
privileges  of  the  former  board. 

Provided  however  that  if  at  any  time  the  said  Academy  from  any  cause  whatever  shall 
cease  to  exist  or  in  case  at  any  time  any  modification  of  its  rights  or  powers  shall  be  made 
by  any  action  other  than  that  of  the  said  Academy  itself  and  such  modification  shall  be  fol- 
lowed within  six  months  thereafter  by  a  vote  of  the  then  Board  of  Directors  approving 
the  passing  and  transfer  hereinafter  mentioned,  then  and  in  all  of  such  cases  the  said  Fund 
together  with  all  accumulations  and  unexpended  income  thereof  shall  pass  and  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  said  Board  of  Directors  who  shall  thereafter  exercise  the  functions  of  both 
Directors  and  Trustees,  and  the  said  National  Academy  shall  no  longer  thereafter  act  as 
Trustee,  and  shall  have  no  power  of  appointing  Directors  and  none  of  the  Directors  need 
be  members  of  the  said  National  Academy ;  and  furthermore  after  such  transfer  and  passing 
the  said  Directors  may  at  any  time  appoint  any  other  persons  or  corporation  as  Trustees, 
reserving  to  themselves  their  powers  and  duties  as  Directors,  and  the  Fund  shall  thereupon 
pass  to  such  new  Trustees  to  be  held  upon  the  same  trusts  upon  which  it  is  hereby  given  to 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  principal  with  its  accumulations  to  be  always  held 
intact  and  the  income  applied  as  shall  be  best  for  the  advancement  of  astronomy  and  for 
the  honor  of  my  father's  memory. 

And  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  doth  hereby  signify  its  acceptance  of  the 
said  Fund  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  ($20,000.)  and  doth  engage  to  hold  the  same  upon 
the  trusts  and  conditions,  and  for  the  uses  and  purposes  herein  mentioned  and  set  forth. 

In  witness  whereof  I  the  said  Alice  Bache  Gould  have  hereto  set  my  hand  and  seal  and 
the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  has  caused  its  corporate  name  and  seal  to  be  hereto 
affixed  by  Wolcott  Gibbs  its  President  thereunto  duly  authorized  this  seventeenth  (xyth) 
day  of  November  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety  seven  (1897). 

ALICE  BACHE   GOULD.     [SEAL.] 
WOLCOTT  GIBBS. 
President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

W.  W.  Vaughan,  witness  to  Alice  Bache  Gould. 

O.  C.  Marsh,  witness  to  Wolcott  Gibbs. 

J.  M.  Crafts,  witness  to  Wolcott  Gibbs. 

C.  B.  Comstock,  witness  to  Wolcott  Gibbs. 

To  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS  OF  THE  BENJAMIN  APTHORP  GOULD  FUND. 

GENTLEMEN:  Believing  that  elaborate  legal  restrictions  upon  the  uses  of  a  perpetual 
fund  may  often  under  changing  circumstances  hinder  the  accomplishment  of  the  general 
intention  of  the  donor,  I  have  in  the  deed  creating  the  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould  Fund 
defined  its  uses  as  briefly  as  possible,  namely,  as  "  for  the  prosecution  of  researches  in 
astronomy." 

Nevertheless  I  wish  hereby  to  record  with  you  some  personal  preferences,  based  upon  what 
I  believe  would  have  been  my  father's  opinions  regarding  the  best  use  of  such  a  Fund, 


APPENDICES  369 

expressly  stating  however  that  this  letter  is  not  intended  to  restrict  the  action  of  the 
Board  of  Directors  more  than  shall  in  their  judgment  be  expedient  and  fitting. 

First.  My  object  in  creating  the  Fund  is  two- fold;  on  the  one  hand  to  advance  the 
science  of  astronomy,  and  on  the  other  to  honor  my  father's  memory  and  to  insure  that  his 
power  to  accomplish  scientific  work  shall  not  end  with  his  own  life. 

Second.  Throughout  my  father's  lifetime  his  patriotic  feeling  and  scientific  ambition  were 
closely  associated,  and  I  wish  therefore  that  a  fund  bearing  his  name  should  be  used 
primarily  for  the  benefit  of  investigators  in  his  own  country  or  of  his  own  nationality.  I 
recognize  however  that  sometimes  the  best  possible  service  to  American  science  is  the 
maintenance  of  close  communion  between  the  scientific  men  of  Europe  and  of  America  and 
that  therefore  even  while  acting  in  the  spirit  of  the  above  restriction  it  may  occasionally 
be  best  to  apply  this  money  to  the  aid  of  a  foreign  investigator  working  abroad. 

In  connection  with  this  I  must  refer  to  the  strong  interest  felt  by  my  father  in  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  to  his  belief  in  the  importance  of  creating  and  maintain- 
ing a  single  national  scientific  body  whose  preeminence  should  be  unquestionable,  and  of 
concentrating  power  in  its  hands.  I  wish  to  recommend  that  all  three  Directors  shall  be 
members  of  the  Academy,  although  I  have  made  this  legally  necessary  for  only  two  of  the 
three,  and  to  record  the  desire  to  serve  the  Academy  so  far  as  I  am  able  as  one  of  my  minor 
motives  in  creating  the  Trust. 

Third.  I  have  copied  many  of  the  provisions  of  the  Bache  Fund,  and  it  is  my  hope  that 
the  Boards  of  Direction  of  the  two  Funds  may  always  act  in  friendly  unison,  as  befits  the 
long  and  intimate  friendship  of  the  men  whose  work  they  perpetuate.  I  trust  that  the 
new  Fund  may  relieve  the  Bache  Directors  of  many  astronomical  expenses,  and  thus  enable 
them  to  devote  the  same  amounts  of  money  to  other  branches  of  science.  And  I  recommend 
the  adoption  of  a  custom  now  followed  by  the  Bache  Board  of  Directors,  by  which  each 
Director  upon  his  own  election  names  to  his  colleagues  the  person  whom  he  believes  most 
fit  to  succeed  him. 

Fourth.  I  wish  that  in  all  cases  work  in  the  Astronomy  of  Precision  should  be  distinctly 
preferred  to  any  work  in  Astrophysics,  both  because  of  my  father's  personal  preference 
and  because  of  the  present  existence  of  generous  endowments  for  Astrophysics. 

Fifth.  The  Astronomical  Journal  long  conducted  by  my  father  has  in  my  belief  exerted 
a  powerful  influence  in  raising  the  standard  of  American  astronomy;  and  in  case  at  some 
future  time  its  existence  should  be  imperiled  by  lack  of  funds,  I  wish  to  recommend  it  to 
the  attention  of  the  then  Board  of  Directors.  As  however  I  believe  that  the  granting  to 
any  scientific  journal  of  definite  rights  over  such  a  Fund  would  be  a  dangerous  precedent, 
I  here  repeat  that  the  Directors  are  not  to  consider  themselves  bound  by  these  my  present 
wishes  further  than  they  deem  appropriate  in  connection  with  a  journal  associated  with 
my  father's  name. 

Sixth.  The  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould  fund  is  intended  for  the  advancement  and  not 
for  the  diffusion  of  scientific  knowledge.  Moreover  I  prefer  that  it  should  be  used  to  defray 
the  actual  expenses  of  an  investigation  rather  than  for  the  personal  support  of  the  investi- 
gator during  the  time  of  his  researches.  I  do  not  wish  absolutely  to  exclude  the  latter  im- 
portant use,  but  such  an  employment  of  funds  seems  to  me  more  appropriately  the  function 
of  a  university  than  of  the  National  Academy,  and  I  hope  therefore  that  before  granting 
money  for  such  a  purpose  the  Directors  will  consider  the  existing  university  endowments  and 
other  sources  of  pecuniary  aid  for  able  workers  in  science. 

Finally  I  wish  to  express  my  entire  faith  in  the  wise  judgment  of  the  first  Board  of 
Directors  and  my  sense  of  my  own  good  fortune  in  being  able  to  intrust  a  memorial  of  my 
father  to  the  hands  of  men  who  have  been  both  his  scientific  associates  and  his  intimate 

personal  friends.  .  „  ~ 

ALICE  BACHE  GOULD. 

BOSTON,  November  17,  1897. 


370  APPENDICES 

THE   JOSEPH    HENRY    FUND 

The  "  Joseph  Henry  fund  "  of  $40,000  was  contributed  by  "  Fairman  Rogers, 
Joseph  Patterson,  George  W.  Childs,  A.  J.  Drexel,  F.  A.  Drexel,  Charles  H. 
Rogers,  J.  G.  Fell,  Isaac  Lea,  Asa  Packer,  John  Welsh,  William  Blanchard, 
James  Lenox,  The  Executors  of  the  Estate  of  John  C.  Green,  Mrs.  John  C. 
Green,  Robert  L.  Stuart,  Miss  C.  L.  Wolfe,  William  Libbey,  E.  N.  Dickerson, 
Cyrus  W.  Field,  Thomas  A.  Scott,  Wm.  W.  Corcoran,  George  P.  Wetmore, 
Thomas  H.  Powers,  J.  S.  Morgan,  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  I.  V.  Williamson, 
John  W.  Garrett,  Charles  S.  Coxe,  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  J.  E.  Caldwell,  Wm. 
Weightman,  Alexr.  Brown,  Henry  C.  Gibson,  J.  Donald  Cameron,  Samuel  M. 
Felton,  Henry  H.  Houston,  Nathaniel  Thayer,  John  L.  Cadwalader,  and  J.  F. 
Navarro  " — 

as  an  expression  of  the  donors'  respect  and  esteem  for  Prof.  Joseph  Henry's  personal  virtues, 
their  sense  of  his  life's  great  devotion  to  science  with  its  results  of  important  discoveries,  and 
of  his  constant  labors  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  and  promote  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

This  sum  of  $40,000  the  contributors  caused  to  be  invested  in  certain  securities, 
and  to  be  deposited  with  and  held  by  the  Pennsylvania  Company  for  Insurance  of 
Lives  and  Granting  Annuities  in  Trust,  which  company  was  required  to  collect 
the  income  thereon  from  time  to  time,  and  to  pay  over  the  same  to  Prof.  Joseph 
Henry  during  his  natural  life,  and  after  his  death,  to  his  wife  and  daughters,  and 
after  the  death  of  the  last  survivor  "  to  deliver  the  said  fund  and  the  securities 
in  which  it  shall  then  be  invested  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  to  be 
thenceforward  forever  held  in  trust  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  under 
the  name  and  title  of  '  the  Joseph  Henry  fund,'  the  principal  to  be  forever  held 
intact  and  the  income  to  be  from  time  to  time  applied  by  the  said  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  in  its  sole  discretion  to  assist  meritorious  investigators 
especially  in  the  direction  of  original  research." 

THE    JOHN  L.  LECONTE    FUND 

The  will  of  Professor  Le  Conte  contains  the  following  clause : 
In  case  all  my  said  children  shall  die  before  my  said  wife  without  lawful  issue,  then  I 

direct  the  whole  income  to  be  paid  to  her  during  her  natural  life  and  upon  her  death  or  in 

case  my  said  children  shall  all  die  after  my  said  wife  without  lawful  issue  and  intestate,  the 

whole  of  my  said  Estate  shall  be  distributed  as  follows: 

I  give  and  bequeath  unto     *     *     *     the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  incorporated  by 

Act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  sum  of  Twenty-five  thousand  dollars 

($25,000). 

THE    MORRIS   LOEB    BEQUEST 

The  will  of  Morris  Loeb,  signed  January  u,  1912,  contains  the  following 
clause : 

"  SEVENTEENTH  :  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Wash- 
ington, in  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  sum  of  Two  thousand  five  hundred  Dollars  as  a 
contribution  toward  the  Wolcott  Gibbs  Fund,  founded  in  1892." 


APPENDICES  371 

THE   O.  C.  MARSH    FUND 
The  will  of  Professor  Marsh  contains  the  following  clause : 

"  I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  to  the  corporation  known  as  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  the  sum  of  $10,000,  as  a  trust  fund,  the  income  to  be  used 
and  expended  by  it  for  promoting  original  research  in  the  natural  sciences." 

THE    JOHN    MURRAY    FUND 

This  fund  came  to  the  Academy  in  the  form  of  a  personal  letter  to  the  Home 
Secretary,  as  follows: 

To  ARNOLD  HAGUE,  ESQ., 

Secretary  of  the  National  Academy, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  U.  S.  A. 
MY  DEAR  HAGUE  : 

I  enclose  you  a  cheque  for  $6000  (=,£1233)  which  sum  I  trust  the  National  Academy 
will  accept  from  me,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  an  Alexander  Agassiz  gold  Medal,  to  be 
awarded  for  original  contributions  in  the  Science  of  Oceanography  to  scientific  men  in  any 
part  of  the  world,  whenever  and  as  often  as  the  President  and  Council  may  deem  desirable. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

(Signed)     JOHN  MURRAY. 
THE  BELLEVUE-STRATFORD, 

Philadelphia,  22  April,  1911. 

THE  J.  LAWRENCE   SMITH   FUND 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  Sarah  Julia  Smith,  of  the  City  of  Louisville,  and 
County  of  Jefferson,  State  of  Kentucky,  in  consideration  of  the  premises  and  of  the 
acceptance  of  the  within  trust  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and,  also,  in  consid- 
eration of  divers  other  good  and  valuable  considerations,  I,  the  said  Sarah  Julia  Smith, 
hereto  moving,  have  given,  granted,  assigned,  transferred,  and  set  over,  and  by  these 
presents  do  give,  grant,  assign,  transfer,  and  set  over  unto  the  said  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  and  to  their  successors  forever,  a  certain  fund  or  sum  of  Eight  thousand  dollars 
with  the  interest  and  income  thereof,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  in  trust  nevertheless — 
upon  the  special  trusts  and  for  the  uses  and  purposes  following,  to  wit: 

First.  In  trust  to  invest  and  to  reinvest  the  said  sum  of  Eight  thousand  dollars,  and  to  keep 
the  same  invested  in  good  and  safe  securities,  or  in  such  other  manner  as  shall  be  in  their 
opinion  best  for  the  preservation  and  maintenance  of  such  fund. 

Second.  In  trust  to  use  the  interest  and  income  thereof  for  the  purpose  of  striking  a  gold 
medal  which  shall  be  called  the  "  Lawrence  Smith  Medal,"  shall  be  of  the  value  of  Two 
hundred  dollars  in  gold,  and  shall  be  struck  in  a  die  to  be  selected  and  presented  to  the  said 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  by  me,  the  said  Sarah  Julia  Smith.  And  the  said  medal 
shall  be  awarded  and  presented  from  time  to  time,  by  the  said  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  to  any  person  in  the  United  States  of  America  or  elsewhere  who  shall  make  an 
original  investigation  of  meteoric  bodies  the  results  of  which  shall  be  made  known  to  the 
public,  such  results  being  in  the  opinion  of  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  of  suffi- 
cient importance  and  benefit  to  science  to  merit  such  recognition,  provided,  however,  that  said 
medal  shall  not  be  presented  or  awarded  more  frequently  than  once  in  two  years,  and  pro- 
vided, also,  that  the  investigation  for  which  it  is  awarded  or  the  completed  publication 
thereof  shall  have  been  made  since  the  time  of  the  last  preceding  award  and  presentation 
of  said  medal. 


372  APPENDICES 

Third.  In  trust  that  if  investigations  of  equal  importance  shall  be  made  in  regard  to 
meteoric  bodies  at  or  about  the  same  time  in  the  United  States  of  America  and,  also,  in 
some  other  part  of  the  world,  each  of  which  investigations  might  in  the  opinion  of  said 
Academy  entitle  the  investigator  to  be  considered  as  a  competitor  for  said  medal,  preference 
shall  be  given  in  the  awarding  thereof  to  investigations  made  by  a  citizen  of  the  said  United 
States  of  America. 

Fourth.  In  trust,  that  if  the  said  die  shall  at  any  time  be  lost,  destroyed,  broken,  or  in 
any  manner  rendered  unfit  for  the  purpose  of  striking  the  said  medal,  a  new  die  shall  be 
procured  exactly  similar  to  the  one  so  selected  and  presented  as  aforesaid,  and  shall  be 
paid  for  out  of  the  interest  and  income  of  the  said  fund ;  and  such  sum  or  sums  of  money 
as  shall  at  any  time  or  times  be  necessary  for  the  care,  custody  and  protection  of  the  said 
die  or  of  the  said  fund  hereby  given,  shall  also  be  taken  from  and  out  of  the  interest  and 
income  of  the  said  fund  whenever  the  same  shall  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  said  National 
Academy  of  Sciences. 

Fifth.  In  trust  that,  if  at  any  time  or  times  the  interest  and  income  of  said  trust  fund 
of  Eight  thousand  dollars  shall  exceed  the  amount  necessary  for  the  striking  of  said  medal 
and  the  care  of  the  said  die  and  of  the  fund,  such  surplus  over  and  above  the  sum  or  sums 
so  required  for  the  purposes  of  the  trust  as  hereinbefore  recited  and  set  forth  shall  be  used 
in  such  manner  as  shall  be  selected  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  aid  of  investi- 
gations of  meteoric  bodies  to  be  made  and  carried  on  by  a  citizen  or  citizens  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 

And  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  doth  signify  its  acceptance  of  the  said  fund 
of  Eight  thousand  dollars  and  doth  engage  to  hold  and  manage  the  same  upon  the  trusts 
and  for  the  uses  and  purposes  herein  mentioned  and  set  forth. 

In  witness  whereof,  I,  the  said  Sarah  Julia  Smith,  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal, 
and  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  hath  hereunto  caused  its  corporate  seal  to  be 
affixed  and  these  presents  to  be  subscribed  by  its  President,  this  sixth  day  of  May,  in  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-four. 

SARAH  JULIA  SMITH,      [SEAL.] 

O.  C.  MARSH,      [SEAL  N.  A.  s.] 

President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of  Annie  C.  Norton,  J.  H.  Caperton  as  to  Sarah  Julia 
Smith. 

Witnesses  to  signature  of  President  Marsh:   George  J.  Brush,  E.  S.  Dana. 

THE   J.  C.  WATSON    FUND 

The  will  of  Mr.  James  C.  Watson,  dated  July  n,  1874,  contains  the  following 
provisions : 

Fifth.  I  give  and  devise  subject  to  conditions  and  legacies  hereinbefore  and  hereafter 
mentioned  all  the  rest,  residue  and  remainder  of  my  real  and  personal  estate  to  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  of  the  United  States  of  America,  of  which  I  am  a  member,  which  said 
Academy  was  incorporated  by  Act  of  Congress,  approved  March  third,  A.  D.,  1863,  to  be 
aggregated,  kept  and  invested  as  a  perpetual  fund  the  income  from  which  shall  be  expended 
by  said  Academy  for  the  promotion  of  Astronomical  Science.  *  *  *  *  I  direct  that  all 
other  [other  than  those  specifically  bequeathed  otherwise]  stocks  bonds  and  securities  owned 
by  me  be  converted  into  money  on  the  most  advantageous  terms  possible  and  as  soon  as  it 
may  be  advantageous  to  do  so  and  paid  over  to  the  Treasurer  of  said  National  Academy  of 
Sciences.  I  direct  that  any  other  personal  property  belonging  to  me,  as  well  as  any  real 
estate  of  which  I  may  die  possessed,  except  my  books  and  scientific  papers,  be  sold  and  dis- 


APPENDICES  373 

posed  of  as  soon  as  may  possibly  be  done  advantageously  to  the  interests  of  ray  estate  and 
that  the  proceeds  thereof  be  paid  over  to  the  Treasurer  of  said  National  Academy  of 
Sciences. 

I  direct  that  my  books  and  scientific  papers  be  transferred  to  said  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  to  become  a  part  of  the  library  of  said  Academy. 

In  order  to  carry  out  the  wish  hereinbefore  expressed  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  income 
from  the  fund  resulting  from  my  estate  hereby  devised  to  said  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  I  do  hereby  direct  that  the  designation  of  the  particular  objects  and  works  which 
may  be  aided  by  this  fund  shall  be  determined,  subject  to  approval  by  a  vote  of  the 
Academy,  by  a  Board  of  Trustees,  three  in  number,  who  shall  be  members  of  the  Academy 
and  elected,  after  the  first  herein  named,  by  said  Academy  whenever  a  vacancy  may  occur 
by  death  or  otherwise.  The  trustees  so  appointed  shall  hold  said  office,  unless  voluntarily 
relinquished  by  them,  during  the  period  of  their  membership  in  the  said  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  and  I  do  hereby  appoint  and  constitute  Julius  E.  Hilgard  of  the  United  States 
Coast  Survey  and  Simon  Newcomb  and  J.  H.  C.  Coffin,  Professors  of  Mathematics  U.  S. 
Navy,  all  of  Washington  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  be  the  first  Board  of  Trustees  for 
the  purposes  herein  named. 

It  is  my  wish  that  the  Academy  may  if  it  shall  seem  proper  provide  for  a  gold  medal  of 
the  value  of  one  hundred  dollars  to  be  awarded  with  a  further  gratuity  of  one  hundred 
dollars,  from  time  to  time  to  the  person  in  any  country  who  shall  make  any  astronomical 
discovery  or  produce  any  astronomical  work  worthy  of  special  reward  as  contributing  to 
our  science.  It  is  my  further  wish  that  provision  be  made  for  preparing  and  publishing 
tables  of  the  motion  of  all  the  planets  which  have  been  discovered  by  me,  as  soon  as  it  may 
be  practicable  to  do  so  and  I  desire  that  in  all  cases  the  trustees  and  the  Academy  shall  act 
in  harmony  to  obtain  results  of  the  greatest  possible  aid  to  our  Science  from  the  income  fund 
resulting  from  my  estate.  I  desire  that  results  so  obtained  shall  be  published  as  speedily  as 
possible  in  such  manner  as  may  be  provided  by  the  Academy. 

I  direct  that  the  said  National  Academy  of  Sciences  take  all  necessary  and  proper 
measures  to  invest  the  funds  resulting  from  the  property  hereby  devised  where  they  may  be 
safe  and  yield  the  largest  income  possible  consistent  with  safety. 


APPENDIX  VII 
LIST   OF   PUBLICATIONS 

ANNUALS 

Annual  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  for  1863-1864.  Cambridge,  1865. 
12°.  Pp.  1-112. 

Annual  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  for  1865.  Cambridge,  1866. 
12°.  Pp.  1-130. 

Annual  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  for  1866.  Cambridge,  1867. 
12°.  Pp.  1-154. 


«  « 

«  « 

«  « 

It  « 

It  « 

It  it 

«  (I 


ANNUAL  REPORTS 
Date  of  Publication 

For  the  year  1863 1864     For  the  year 

1864 1865 

1865 1866 

1866 1867 

1867 1868 

1872 1873 

1878 1879 

1879 1880 

Report  of  Proceedings  of  the 
National  Academy  of  .Sciences 
from  November  16,  1880,  to 

the  close  of  the  year  1881 . .  .  1882 

For  the  year  1882 1883 

"   "   "   1883 1884 

"   "   "   1884 1885 

1885 1886 

1886 1887 

1887 1888 

1888 1890 

1889 1891 

1890 1891 

1891 1892 


Date  of  Publication 


<«  « 

«  « 

<(  « 

it  « 

«  « 

«  « 


1892  

1893 

1893  

l895 

1895 

1896 

1896  

1897 

1897  

1898 

1898  

1899 

1899  

,  1900 

1900  

,  1901 

1901  

,  1902 

1902  , 

1903 

1903  

1904 

1904  

1905 

1905  

1906 

1906  

1907 

1907  

1908 

1908  

1909 

1909  

1910 

1910  

1911 

1911  

1912 

1912  

I9U 

374 


APPENDICES  375 

BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 
VOLUME  i.    1877.    8°.    PP.  i-vi,  1-343  PAGES 

JOSEPH  STILLMAN  HUBBARD By  B.  A.  Gould i-  34 

JOSEPH  GILBERT  TOTTEN By  J.  G.  Barnard 35-  97 

BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  SR By  Alexis  Caswell   99-112 

EDWARD  HITCHCOCK    By  J.  P.  Lesley 113-134 

JAMES  MELVILLE  GILLISS By  B.  A.   Gould 135-179 

ALEXANDER  DALLAS  BACHE By  Joseph  Henry i8i-2i2d 

JOHN   H.  ALEXANDER By  J.   E.   Hilgard 213-226 

WILLIAM  CHAUVENET By  J.  H.  C.  Coffin 227-244 

JOHN  FRIES  FRAZER By  John  L.  Le  Conte 245-256 

JAMES   HENRY  COFFIN By  A.  Guyot    257-264 

JOHN  TORREY By  Asa  Gray   265-276 

WILLIAM  STARLING  SULLIVANT By  Asa  Gray    277-285 

JOSEPH    SAXTON    By  Joseph  Henry 287-316 

HENRY  JAMES  CLARK By  A.  S.  Packard,  Jr 317-328 

JOSEPH  WINLOCK By  Joseph  Levering 329-343 

VOLUME  2.    1886.    8°.    PP.  i-iv,  1-388 

PAGES 

THEODORE  STRONG  By  Joseph  P.  Bradley 1-28 

DENNIS  HART  MAHAN By  Henry  L.  Abbot 29-37 

Louis  AGASSIZ    By  Arnold   Guyot    39-  73 

JEFFRIES  WYMAN  By  A.   S.   Packard 75-126 

JARED  POTTER  KIRTLAND By  J.  S.  Newberry 127-138 

SAMUEL   STEDMAN   HALDEMAN By  J.  P.  Lesley 139-172 

GOUVERNEUR  KEMBLE  WARREN By  Henry  L.  Abbot 173-188 

WILLIAM  A.  NORTON By  W.  P.  Trowbridge 189-199 

ANDREW  ATKINSON   HUMPHREYS.  .  .  .By  Henry  L.  Abbot 201-215 

JOHN   LAWRENCE    SMITH By  Benjamin  Silliman   217-248 

STEPHEN  ALEXANDER By  C.  A.  Young 249-259 

JOHN   LAWRENCE   LE  CONTE By  Samuel  H.  Scudder 261-293 

JOSEPH  JANVIER  WOODWARD By  J.  S.  Billings 295-307 

ARNOLD  GUYOT    By  James  D.  Dana 309-347 

JOHN  WILLIAM  DRAPER  By  George  F.  Barker 349-388 


376  APPENDICES 

VOLUME  3.     1895.    8°.    PP.  f-iv,  1-441 

PAGES 

WILLIAM   BARTON  ROGERS By  Francis  A.  Walker 1-13 

EDWARD  TUCKERMAN    By  W.    G.    Farlow 15-28 

EDWARD  B.  HUNT By  F.  A.  P.  Barnard 29-41 

JAMES  CRAIG  WATSON By  George  C.  Comstock 43-  57 

JAMES  BUCHANAN  EADS  By  William  Sellers    59-  79 

HENRY  DRAPER    By  George  F.  Barker 81-139 

SPENCER  FULLERTON  BAIRD By  John   S.   Billings 141-160 

ASA  GRAY   By  W.    G.    Farlow 161-175 

JOHN  CALL  DALTON By  S.  Weir   Mitchell 177-185 

LEO  LESQUEREUX  By  J.  P.  Lesley 187-212 

ELIAS  LOOMIS    By  H.   A.    Newton 213-252 

JONATHAN  HOMER  LANE By  Cleveland  Abbe    253-264 

WILLIAM  FERREL   By  Cleveland  Abbe   265-309 

MONTGOMERY  C.  MEIGS By  Henry  L.  Abbot 311-326 

JULIUS  ERASMUS  HILGARD By  E.  W.   Hilgard 327-338 

AMOS   HENRY  WORTHEN By  Charles  A.  White 339-362 

WILLIAM  P.  TROWBRIDGE By  C.    B.    Comstock 363-367 

JOHN  LE  CONTE   By  Joseph   Le  Conte    369-393 

FERDINAND  VANDIVEER  HAYDEN By  Charles  A.  White 395-413* 

LEWIS  MORRIS  RUTHERFURD  By  B.  A.   Gould 415-441 


VOLUME  4.    1902.    8°.    PP.  i-iv.  1-240 

PAGES 

GEORGE  ENGELMANN  By  Charles  A.  White 1-21 

CHARLES  HENRY  DAVIS By  C.   H.   Davis 23-55 

JAMES   EDWARD  OLIVER By  G.  W.  Hill 57-  74 

FIELDING  BRADFORD  MEEK By  Charles  A.  White 75-91 

CHARLES  EDOUARD  BRowN-SEQUARD.By  H.   P.   Bowditch 93-  97 

HUBERT  ANSON    NEWTON By  J.  Willard   Gibbs    99-124 

THOMAS  LINCOLN  CASEY By  Henry  L.  Abbot 125-134 

GEORGE  HAMMELL  COOK By  G.  K.  Gilbert 135-144 

GEORGE  BROWN  GOODE By  S.   P.   Langley 145-174 

JOSIAH  PARSONS  COOKE By  Charles  L.  Jackson 175-183 

WILLIAM  AUGUSTUS  ROGERS By  Edward  W.  Morley 185-199 

FREDERICK  AUGUSTUS  GENTH By  George  F.  Barker 201-231* 

JOHN  NEWTON   By  Cyrus  B.  Comstock 233-240 

*With  portrait. 


APPENDICES  377 

VOLUME  5.    1905.    8°.    PP.  i-vi,  1-309  pAGjjs 

JOSEPH  HENRY   By  Simon    Newcomb I-  45* 

JOHN  EDWARDS  HOLBROOK By  Theodore  Gill   47-  77* 

Louis  FRANCOIS  DEPOURTALES By  Alexander  Agassiz   79-  89* 

AUGUSTUS  ADDISON  GOULD By  Jeffries  Wyman  and 

W.  H.  Dall 91-113* 

HENRY  AUGUSTUS  ROWLAND By  Thomas  C.  Mendenhall.  .  115-140* 

THEODORE  LYMAN   By  H.   P.   Bowditch 141-153* 

MATTHEW  GARY  LEA   By  George  F.  Barker 155-208* 

FRANCIS  AMASA  WALKER By  John  S.  Billings 209-218* 

JOHN  GROSS   BARNARD By  Henry  L.  Abbot 219-229* 

JAMES   EDWARD  KEELER By  Charles  S.  Hastings 231-246* 

JAMES  HADLEY   By  Arthur  Twining  Hadley .  .  247-254* 

HENRY  BARKER  HILL By  Charles  Loring  Jackson.  .255-266* 

SERENO  WATSON    By  William  H.  Brewer 267-290* 

ROBERT  EMPIE  ROGERS By  Edgar    Fahs   Smith 291-309* 

VOLUME  6.    1909.    8°.    PP.  i-vi,  1-472  pAGES 

JOHN  STRONG  NEWBERRY By  Charles  A.  White i-  24* 

CLARENCE  KING   By  Samuel  Franklin  Emmons.   25-  55* 

CHARLES  EMERSON  BEECHER By  William  Healey  Dall. . .  .   57-  70* 

GEORGE  PERKINS  MARSH By  William  M.   Davis 71-  80* 

JOHN  RODGERS    By  Asaph  Hall 81-  92* 

FAIRMAN  ROGERS    By  Edgar  F.  Smith 93-107* 

WILLIAM  A.  ROGERS  ( Pt.  2) By  Arthur  Searle 109-1 17* 

SAMUEL  LEWIS  PENFIELD By  Horace  L.  Wells 119-146* 

JOSEPH   LE  CONTE    By  Eugene  W.   Hilgard 147-218* 

LEWIS  HENRY  MORGAN By  W.  H.  Holmes 219-239* 

ASAPH  HALL By  George  William  Hill. . .  .241-309* 

ALPHEUS  HYATT    By  William  Keith  Brooks. .  .311-325* 

JOSEPH  LOVERING By  B.   Osgood   Peirce 327-344* 

WILLIAM   MORE  GABB By  William  H.  Dall 345~36i* 

ALEXIS   CASWELL    By  Joseph  Lovering 363-372* 

JOSIAH   WILLARD   GIBBS By  Charles   S.    Hastings 373-393* 

ELLIOTT  COUES By  J.  A.  Allen 395-446* 

OGDEN  NICHOLAS  ROOD By  Edward  L.  Nichols 447-472* 

•With  portrait. 


APPENDICES 
VOLUME  7 

PAGES 

WOLCOTT  GIBBS   By  F.  W.  Clarke,  1910 i-  22* 

WILLIAM  KEITH  BROOKS By  Edwin  G.  Conklin 23-  88* 

CHARLES  AUGUSTUS  YOUNG By  Edwin  B.  Frost 89-114* 

BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN   By  Arthur  W.  Wright 115-141* 

JAMES  HAMMOND  TRUMBULL   By  Arthur  W.  Wright 143-169* 

WILLIAM  C.  H.  BARTLETT By  Edward  S.  Holden 171-193* 

CYRUS  BALLOU  COMSTOCK By  Henry  L.  Abbot 195-201* 

SAMUEL  WILLIAM  JOHNSON By  Thomas  B.  Osborne 203-222* 

CHARLES   ABIATHAR  WHITE By  William   H.   Dall 223-243* 

SAMUEL  PIERPONT  LANGLEY By  Charles  D.  Walcott 245-268* 

CHARLES  OTIS  WHITMAN By  Edward  S.  Morse 269-288* 

ALEXANDER  AGASSIZ    By  George  L.  Goodale 289-305* 

SAMUEL  FRANKLIN  EMMONS By  Arnold   Hague 307-334* 

JOSEPH  LEIDY   By  Henry  F.  Osborn 335-394 


CONSTITUTION  AND  BY-LAWS 
1864,  [1872]. 

CONSTITUTION  AND  MEMBERSHIP 

1876,    1879,    1882,    1883,    1884,    1885,    1886,    1887,    1888,    1890,    1891,    1892, 
1893,  1895. 

LIST  OF  OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS 
1910,   I9II,  1912. 

MEMOIRS 
VOLUME  i.    1866.    4°.    PP.  i-iv,  1-343 

1.  Reduction  of  the  Observations  of  the  Fixed  Stars  made  by  JOSEPH  LEPAUTE 

D'AGELET,  at  Paris,  during  the  years  1783-1785,  with  a  Catalogue  of  the 
corresponding  Mean  Places  referred  to  the  Equinox  1 800.0.  By  B.  A. 
GOULD.  Pp.  1-261. 

2.  On  the  Saturnian  System.    By    BENJAMIN  PEIRCE.    Pp.  263-286. 

3.  On  Shooting  Stars.    By  H.  A.  NEWTON.    Pp.  291-312. 

4.  On  the  Distribution  of  Certain  Important  Diseases  in  the  United  States.     By 

AUGUSTUS  A.  GOULD.    Pp.  287-290. 

5.  On  Rifled  Guns.    By  W.  H.  C.  BARTLETT.    Pp.  313-343. 

*  With  portrait. 


APPENDICES  379 

VOLUME  2.     1884.     4°.     PP.  1-262 

1.  Report  of  the  Eclipse  Expedition  to  Caroline  Island,  May,  1883.    Pp.  5-146. 

2.  Experimental  Determination  of  Wave-lengths  in  the  Invisible  Prismatic  Spec- 

trum.   By  PROF.  S.  P.  LANGLEY.    Pp.  147-162,  4  pis. 

3.  On  the  Subsidence  of  Particles  in  Liquids.    By  W.  H.  BREWER.    Pp.  163-175. 

4.  On  the  Formation  of  a  Deaf  Variety  of  the  Human  Race.    By  A.  GRAHAM 

BELL.    Pp.  177-262. 

VOLUME  3.     1885-6.     4°.     PP.  i-uo,  1-169 
PART  i.    1885 

1.  The  Sufficiency  of  Terrestrial  Rotation  for  the  Deflection  of  Streams.     By 

G.  K.  GILBERT.    Pp.  7-10. 

2.  On  the  Temperature  of  the  Surface  of  the  Moon.     By  PROF.  S.  P.  LANGLEY. 

Pp.  11-42,  pis.  1-6. 

3.  On  a  Method  of  Precisely  Measuring  the  Vibratory  Periods  of  Tuning-forks, 

and  the  Determination  of  the  Laws  of  the  Vibrations  of  Forks;  with 
Special  Reference  of  these  Facts  and  Laws  to  the  Action  of  a  Simple 
Chronoscope.  By  PROF.  ALFRED  M.  MAYER.  Pp.  43-59,  4  pis. 

4.  The  Baume  Hydrometers.    By  PROF.  C.  F.  CHANDLER.    Pp.  61-71. 

5.  On  Small  Differences  of  Sensation.    By  PROF.  C.  S.  PEIRCE  and  J.  JASTROW. 

Pp.  73-83. 

6.  Description  of  an  Articulate  of  Doubtful  Relationship,   from  the  Tertiary 

Beds  of  Florissant,  Colorado.    By  DR.  S.  H.  SCUDDER.     Pp.  85-90. 

7.  On  Structure  of  the  Columella  Auris  in  the  Pelycosauria.     By  PROF.  E.  D. 

COPE.    Pp.  91-95. 

8.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Brain  of  the  Sessile-eyed  Crustacea,     i.  The  Brain 

of  Asellus  and  the  Eyeless  Form  Cecidotaa.  By  PROF.  A.  S.  PACKARD. 
Pp.  97-110,  pis.  1-5. 

PART  2.     1886 

9.  Contribution  to  Meteorology.    By  ELIAS  LOOMIS.    Pp.  1-66,  pis.  1-16. 

10.  On  Flamsteed's  Star,  "  Observed,  but  not  Existing."    By  C.  H.  F.  PETERS. 

Pp.  69-83. 

11.  Corrigenda  in  Various  Star  Catalogues.     By  C.  H.  F.  PETERS.     Pp.  87-97. 

12.  Ratio  of  Meter  to  Yard.    By  C.  B.  COMSTOCK.    Pp.  101-103. 

13.  On  Composite  Photography  as  Applied  to  Craniology,  by  J.  S.  BILLINGS; 

and  on  Measuring  the  Cubic  Capacity  of  Skulls,  by  WASHINGTON  MAT- 
THEWS.   Pp.  105-116,  20  pis. 

14.  On  a  New  Craniophore  for  Use  in   Making  Composite   Photographs  of 

Skulls.     By  J.  S.  BILLINGS  and  WASHINGTON  MATTHEWS.     Pp.  119- 
120,  4  pis. 


380  APPENDICES 

15.  (i)   On  the  Syncarida,  a  Hitherto  Undescribed  Synthetic  Group  of  Extinct 

Malacostracous  Crustacea.  (2)  On  the  Gampsonychidae,  an  Undescribed 
Family  of  Fossil  Schizopod  Crustacea.  (3)  On  the  Anthracaridae,  a 
Family  of  Carboniferous  Macrurous  Decapod  Crustacea.  By  A.  S. 
PACKARD.  Pp.  123-139,  pis.  1-4. 

1 6.  On  the  Carboniferous  Xiphosurous  Fauna  of  North  America.     By  A.  S. 

PACKARD.    Pp.  143-157,  pis.  5-7. 

17.  On  Two  New  Forms  of  Polyodont  and   Gonorhynchid   Fishes  from  the 

Eocene  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.    By  E.  D.  COPE.     Pp.  161-165,  i  pi. 
Note  on  the  Third  Memoir,  page  45,  part  i.     By  ALFRED  M.  MAYER. 
Pp.  167-169. 

VOLUME  4.     1888-1889.    4°.     PP.  1-270,  1-223 
PART  i.     1888.    PP.  1-270 

1.  The  Cave  Fauna  of  North  America,  with  remarks  on  the  Anatomy  of  the 

Brain  and  Origin  of  the  Blind  Species.     By  A.  S.  PACKARD.     Pp.  3-156, 
pis.  1-27. 

2.  The    Solar   and    Lunar    Spectrum.      By    S.    P.    LANGLEY.      Pp.    159-170, 

5  diagrams. 

3.  On  the  Reduction  of  Photographic  Observations,  with  a  Determination  of  the 

Position  of  the  Pleiades,  from  Photographs  by  Mr.  Rutherfurd.    By  B.  A. 
GOULD.    Pp.  173-190. 

4.  Reduction  of  Photgraphic  Observations  of  the  Praesepe.     By  B.  A.  GOULD. 

Pp.  193-199. 

5.  Balance   for   Determining   Specific   Gravity   by    Inspection.      By    F.    A.    P. 

BARNARD.    Pp.  203-205. 

6.  Theory  of  Magic  Squares  and  of  Magic  Cubes.     By  F.  A.  P.  BARNARD. 

Pp.  209-270. 

PART  2.     1889.     PP.  1-223 

7.  Contributions  to  Meteorology.    By  ELIAS  LOOMIS.    Pp.  7-77,  pis.  17-32. 

8.  On  the  Determination  of  Elliptic  Orbits  from  three  Observations.     By  J. 

WILLARD  GIBBS.    Pp.  79-104. 

9.  The  Temperature  of  the  Moon.    By  S.  P.  LANGLEY.  Pp.  105-212,  pis.  1-26. 
10.  On  the  Lucayan  Indians.    By  W.  K.  BROOKS.    Pp.  213-223,  pis.  1-12. 

VOLUME  5.     1891.    4°.     PP.  1-590 

[i.]  Energy  and  Vision.    By  S.  P.  LANGLEY.    Pp.  5-18. 

[2.]  Contributions  to  Meteorology.    By  ELIAS  LOOMIS.    Pp.  21-109,  pis.  33-51. 
[3.]   Report  of  Studies  of  Atmospheric  Electricity.     By  T.  C.  MENDENHALL. 
Pp.  111-318. 


APPENDICES  381 

[4.]  The  Embryology  and  Metamorphosis  of  the  Macroura.  By  W.  K.  BROOKS 
and  F.  H.  HERRICK.  Pp.  319-576,  pis.  i-57- 

[5.]  On  the  Application  of  Interference  Methods  to  Astronomical  Measure- 
ments. By  A.  A.  MICHELSON.  Pp.  577-59O,  7  Pls- 

VOLUME  6.    1893.    4°.    PP.  1-331 

1.  On  the  Capture  of  Comets  by  Planets,  especially  their  Capture  by  Jupiter. 

By  H.  A.  NEWTON.    Pp.  5-23. 

2.  Atmospheric  Electricity.    By  ROBERT  CATLIN,  U.  S.  A.    Pp.  25-33,  7  pis. 

3.  On  Certain  new  Methods  and  Results  in  Optics.    By  CHARLES  S.  HASTINGS. 

Pp.  35-47- 

4.  The  Proteids  or  Albuminoids  of  the  Oat  Kernel.    By  THOMAS  B.  OSBORNE. 

Pp.  49-87. 

5.  A  Comparison  of  Antipodal  Faunas.     By  THEODORE  GILL.     Pp.  89-124. 

6.  Families  and  Sub-Families  of  Fishes.    By  THEODORE  GILL.     Pp.  125-138. 

7.  Human   Bones  of   the    Hemenway  Collection   in   the  United   States  Army 

Medical  Museum.  By  WASHINGTON  MATTHEWS,  Surgeon,  U.  S.  Army  ; 
DR.  J.  L.  WORTMAN,  and  DR.  JOHN  S.  BILLINGS,  Surgeon,  U.  S.  Army; 
Pp.  139-286,  pis.  1-59. 

8.  Further   Studies  of  the   Brain  of  Limulus  Polyphemus,  with   notes  on   its 

Embryology.    By  ALPHEUS  S.  PACKARD.    Pp.  287-331,  pis.  1-36. 

VOLUME  7.     1895.    4°.     PP.  1-484 

1.  Monograph  of  the  Bombycine  Moths  of  America,  North  of  Mexico,  including 

their  Transformations  and  Origin  of  the  Larval  Markings  and  Armature. 
By  PROF.  ALPHEUS  S.  PACKARD.  Pp.  3-291  (explanation  of  plates,  293- 
390),  pis.  1-49,  maps  i-io. 

2.  On  Reaction-Times  and  the  Velocity  of  the  Nervous  Impulse.     By  PROF.  J. 

McKEEN  CATTELL  and  DR.  CHARLES  S.  DOLLEY.    Pp.  391-415. 

3.  The  Bacteria  of  River  Waters.     By  JOHN  S.  BILLINGS.     Pp.  417-484,  pis. 

1-5,  diagrams  1-5. 

VOLUME  8.     1902.    4°.     PP.  i-iv,  1-648 

1.  Notes  on  the  Bacteriological  Examination  of  the  Soil  of  Philadelphia.      By 

M.  P.  RAVENEL.    Pp.  1-41,  3  pis. 

2.  A  Contribution  to  the  Study  of  the  Effect  of  the  Venom  of  Crotalus  Ada- 

manteus  upon  the  Blood  of  Man  and  Animals.  By  S.  W.  MITCHELL  and 
ALONZO  H.  STEWART.  Pp.  [43-56],  pis.  1-6. 

3.  General  Perturbations  of  Minerva  (93),  by  Jupiter,  including  Terms  only  of 

the  First  Order  with  Respect  to  the  Mass,  together  with  a  Correction  of 

Elements.    By  W.  S.  EICHELBERGER.    Pp.  57-77. 

26 


382  APPENDICES 

4.  Ophlura  Brevispina.    By  W.  K.  BROOKS  and  CAS  WELL  GRAVE.    Pp.  79-100, 

pis.  1-3. 

5.  Anatomy  of  Nautilus  Pompilius.     By  LAWRENCE  E.  GRIFFIN.     Pp.  101-197 

(explanation  of  plates,  198-230),  pis.  1-17. 

6.  An  Experimental   Inquiry  Regarding  the  Nutritive  Value  of  Alcohol.     By 

W.  O.  ATWATER  and  F.  G.  BENEDICT.    Pp.  231-397. 

7.  West  Indian   Madreporarian   Polyps.     By  J.   E.   DUERDEN.      Pp.   399-599 

(explanation  of  plates,  600-648),  pis.  1-25. 

VOLUME  9.     1905.    4°.     PP.  1-149 

Monograph  of  the  Bombycine  Moths  of  North  America,  including  their  Trans- 
formations and  Origin  of  the  Larval  Markings  and  Armature.  Part  II. 
Family  Ceratocampidae,  sub-family  Ceratocampinae.  By  ALPHEUS  SPRING 
PACKARD.  Pp.  1-149  (explanation  of  plates,  151-272),  pis.  1-61. 

VOLUME  10.     1911.     4°.     PP.  i-vi,  1-377 

1.  The  Absolute  Value  of  the  Acceleration  of  Gravity  determined  by  the  Ring- 

pendulum  Method.    By  CHARLES  E.  MENDENHALL.     Pp.  1-23,  pis.  1-3. 
1905. 

2.  Claytonia  Gronov.    A  Morphological  and  Anatomical  Study.    By  THEODORE 

HOLM.    Pp.  25-37,  pis-  J'2-     1905. 

3.  A  Research  upon  the  Action  of  Alcohol  upon  the  Circulation.     By  HORATIO 

C.  WOOD  and  DANIEL  M.  HOYT.    Pp.  39-70,  pis.  1-3.    1905. 

4.  Phoronis  architecta:    Its  Life  History,  Anatomy,  and  Breeding  Habits.      By 

WILLIAM  KEITH  BROOKS  and  RHEINART  PARKER  COWLES.  Pp.  71- 
113  (explanation  of  plates,  115-148),  pis.  1-17.  1905. 

5.  The  Affinities  of  the  Pelagic  Tunicates,  No.  I :    On  a  new  Pyrosoma.     By 

WILLIAM  KEITH  BROOKS.    Pp.  149-156,  pis.  1-2.    1906. 

6.  Commelinaceas.     Morphological  and  Anatomical   Studies  of  the  Vegetative 

Organs  of  some  North  and  Central  American  Species.  By  THEODORE 
HOLM.  Pp.  157-192,  pis.  1-8.  1906. 

7.  Tables  of  Minor  Planets  discovered  by  James  C.  Watson,  Part  I :    Tables  of 

(93)  Minerva,  (101)  Helena,  (103)  Hera,  (105)  Artemis,  (115)  Thyra. 
(119)  Althaea,  (128)  Nemesis,  (133)  Gyrene,  (139)  Juewa,  (161) 
Athor,  (174)  Phaedra,  and  (179)  Klytaemnestra.  By  ARMIN  O. 
LEUSCHNER.  Pp.  193-374.  1910. 

VOLUME  n.     1913.     4°.     PP.  1-298 

i.  Agave  in  the  West  Indies.     By  WILLIAM  TRELEASE.     Pp.  1-298,  pis.  A-E, 
1-116.     1913. 


APPENDICES  383 

PROCEEDINGS 
VOLUME  i.    1896.    8°.    Pp.  1-406 

PART  i.  Pp.  1-120.  Published  1877. 
PART  2.  Pp.  121-240.  Published  1886. 
PART  3.  Pp.  241-406.  Published  1896. 

REPORTS  OF  COMMITTEES 

[Report  on  the  question  of  the  value  of  the  water-proofing  process  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  the  fractional  currency.]  In  House  Misc.  Doc.  no.  163, 
part  2,  44th  Congress,  ist  Session,  pp.  22-28.  April  3,  1876. 

Forty-fifth  Congress,  3d  Session,  House  of  Representatives  Misc.  Doc.  no.  5. 
Surveys  of  the  Territories.  Letter  from  the  Acting  President  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  transmitting  a  report  on  the  surveys  of  the  Territories. 
Ordered  printed,  December  3,  1878.  8°.  Pp.  1-27. 

Forty-seventh  Congress,  2d  Session.  Senate  Misc.  Doc.  no.  51.  National 
Academy  of  Sciences.  Investigation  of  the  scientific  and  economic  relations 
of  the  sorghum  sugar  industry,  being  a  report  made  in  response  to  a  request  from 
the  Hon.  George  B.  Loring,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  by  a  committee 
of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  November,  1882.  Washington:  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office.  1883.  8°.  Pp.  1-152. 

United  States  Internal  Revenue. — Report  on  glucose,  prepared  by  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  in  response  to  a  request  made  by  the  Commissioner  of 
Internal  Revenue.  Washington:  Government  Printing  Office.  1884.  8°. 
Pp.  1-108. 

Report  of  committee  of  National  Academy  of  Sciences  concerning  classification 
of  Donskoi  wool,  Jan.  30,  1886.  1886.  Treasury  Department  Doc.  no.  805. 

Forty-ninth  Congress,  ist  Session.  Senate,  Ex.  Doc.  no.  67.  Letter  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  transmitting,  in  compliance  with  the  Senate  resolution, 
February  2,  1886,  report  of  National  Academy  of  Sciences  upon  the  proposed 
new  Naval  Observatory.  Ordered  printed,  February  10,  1886. 

[Report  on  the  organization  of  the  National  Surveys  and  the  Signal  Service.] 
In  Senate  Misc.  Doc.  no.  82,  49th  Congress,  ist  Session.  Pp.  i*-37*.  Ordered 
printed,  March  16,  1886.  1886. 

National  Academy  of  Sciences.  Standards  for  Electrical  Measure,  February 
20,  1895.  Printed  for  the  Academy.  Washington:  Judd  &  Detweiler,  Printers. 
1895.  8°.  Pp.  1-9. 

Fifty-third  Congress,  3d  Session.  Senate,  Misc.  Doc.  no.  115.  Report  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  made  in  compliance  with  a  requirement  of  the 
law  (H.  R.  6500)  entitled  "  an  act  to  define  and  establish  the  units  of  electrical 
measure,"  approved  July  12,  1894.  Ordered  printed,  February  19,  1895. 


384  APPENDICES 

Report  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  upon 
the  inauguration  of  a  forest  policy  for  the  forested  lands  of  the  United  States  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  May  I,  1897.  Washington:  Government  Printing 
Office.  1897.  8°.  Pp.  1-47. 

Fifty-eighth  Congress,  3d  Session.  Senate  Doc.  no.  145.  Report  by  committee 
appointed  by  Academy  to  consider  desirability  of  instituting  scientific  explorations 
of  Philippine  Islands.  Pp.  1-22.  8°.  Ordered  printed,  February  7,  1905. 

Sixtieth  Congress,  2d  Session.  House  of  Representatives,  Doc.  no.  1337. 
Conduct  of  scientific  work  under  United  States  Government.  Message  from  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  report  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  relating  to  the  conduct  of  the  scientific  work  under  the  United  States 
Government.  Pp.  1-5.  8°.  Ordered  printed,  January  18,  1909. 


APPENDIX  VIII 


LIST  OF  MEETINGS 


1863,  April 

1864,  January 
August 

1865,  January 
August 

1866,  January 
August 

1867,  January 
August 

1868,  January 
August 

1869,  April 
August  31 

1870,  April 

1871,  April 

1872,  April 
November 

1873,  April 
October 

1874,  April 
November 

1875,  April 
November 

1876,  April 
October 

1877,  April 
October 

1878,  April 
November 

1879,  April 
October 

1880,  April 
November 


22.  New  York  City.    Chapel  of  the  University  of  the  City 
of  New  York   (Organization). 

4-9.  Washington  (Capitol). 

4-6.  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

3-7.  Washington. 

23-26.  Northampton,  Massachusetts. 

24-27.  Washington. 

7-12.  Northampton,  Massachusetts. 

23-27.  Washington. 

13-16.  Hartford,  Connecticut  (State  House). 

22-25.  Washington  (Capitol). 

25-29.  Northampton,  Massachusetts. 

13-17.  Washington. 

-September  3.     Northampton,  Massachusetts. 

14-17.  Washington. 

18-23.  Washington. 

16-19.  Washington. 

2O-22.  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 

15-19.  Washington. 

28-30.  New  York  City. 

21-25.  Washington. 

3-6.  Philadelphia. 

20-23.  Washington. 

2-5.  Philadelphia. 

18-22.  Washington. 

17-19.  Philadelphia. 

1 7-20.  Washington. 

23-25.  New  York  City. 

16-19.  Washington. 

5-8.  New  York  City. 

15-18.  Washington. 

25-30.  New  York  City. 

20-23.  Washington. 

16-19.  New  York  City  ( Columbia  College ) . 

385 


386 


APPENDICES 


1 88 1,  April          19-22. 
November  15-17. 

1882,  April          1 8-2 1. 
November  14-17. 

1883,  April          17-21. 
November  13-16. 

1884,  April  15-18. 
April  17,  Evening. 


Washington  (All  Souls'  Church). 

Philadelphia. 

Washington. 

New  York  City. 

Washington. 

New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

Memorial  Service  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 


1885, 


October      14-17. 
October  15. 

April          21-24. 
November  10-13. 
1866,  April          20-23. 
November    9-11. 

1887,  April          19-22. 
November    8-u. 

1888,  April          17-20. 
November  13-15. 


Newport,  Rhode  Island   (Court  House). 

Special  business  session. 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

Albany,  New  York  (Assembly  Parlor  at  the  Capitol). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

Boston  (Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

New  York  City  (Columbia  College). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

New    Haven,    Connecticut     (North    Sheffield    Hall, 

Yale  University). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
Philadelphia  (University  of  Pennsylvania). 
Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
Boston  (Boston  Society  of  Natural  History). 
Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
New  York  City  (Columbia  College). 
Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
Baltimore   (Johns  Hopkins  University). 
Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
Albany,  New  York  (Capitol). 
Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
October  3O-November    i.     New   Haven,   Connecticut    (North   Sheffield 

Hall,  Yale  University). 

1895,  February  9  (Special).     New  York  City  (Columbia  College). 
April          16-19.     Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
October    3O-November    I.     Philadelphia     (University    of    Pennsylvania 

Department  of  Hygiene). 
Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
New  York  City  (Columbia  University). 
Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 
Boston  (Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology). 
Washington  (Congressional  Library). 
New  Haven,  Connecticut  (Sheffield  Scientific  School). 


1889,  April          16-19. 
November  12-14. 

1890,  April          15-18. 
November  11-13. 

1891,  April          21-24. 
November  10-12. 

1892,  April          19-22. 
November      1-3. 

1893,  April          1 8-2 1. 
November      7-9. 

1894,  April          17-20. 


1896,  April          21-24. 
November  17-18. 

1897,  April          20-22. 
November  16-18. 

1898,  April          19-22. 
November  15-17. 


APPENDICES 


387 


1899,  April  18-20. 
November  14-16. 

1900,  April          17-19. 
November  13-14. 

1901,  April          1 6- 1 8. 
November  12-14. 

1902,  April          15-17. 
November  11-12. 

1903,  April          21-23. 
November  17-18. 

1904,  April          19-21. 
November  15-16. 

1905,  April          18-20. 
November  14-15. 

1906,  April          1 6- 1 8. 
November  20-22. 

1907,  April          1 6- 1 8. 

November  19-20. 

1908,  April          21-23. 
November  17-18. 

1909,  April          20-22. 
November  16-18. 

1910,  April          19-21. 
November    8-10. 

1911,  April  18-20. 
November  21-22. 

1912,  April          16-18. 
November  12-13. 


Washington  (Columbian  University). 

New  York  City  (Columbia  University). 

Washington  (Columbian  University). 

Providence,  Rhode  Island  (Brown  University). 

Washington   (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

Philadelphia   (Houston   Hall,  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

Baltimore  (Physical  Laboratory,  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

Chicago    (Haskell   Oriental    Museum,   University   of 
Chicago). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

New  York  City    (Havemeyer   Hall,   Columbia  Uni- 
versity). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

New  Haven,  Connecticut   (Sheffield  Scientific  School, 
Yale  University). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

Boston  (Harvard  Medical  School). 

Washington    (Smithsonian    Institution    and    U.    S. 
National  Museum). 

New  York  City  ( Schermerhorn  Hall,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity) . 

Washington    (Smithsonian  Institution). 

Baltimore   (Johns  Hopkins  University). 

Washington   (Smithsonian  Institution). 

Princeton,  New  Jersey  (Guyot  Hall,  Princeton  Uni- 
versity). 

Washington  (Smithsonian  Institution). 

St.  Louis  (Missouri  Botanical  Garden). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

New  York  City  (New  York  Public  Library). 

Washington  (U.  S.  National  Museum). 

New   Haven,   Connecticut    (Sloane   Physical   Labora- 
tory, Yale  University). 


INDEX 


Abbot,  Charles  G.,  61. 

awarded  Henry  Draper  Medal,  98. 
Abbot,  Henry  L.,  81,  312,  314,  316,  320,  325. 
Abel,  Professor,  85. 
Academic  des  Sciences,  Paris,  56. 
Adams,  John,  7,   12. 
Adams,  John  Quincy,  280,  284. 
Agassiz,   Alexander,   84,   93,   100,   272,   281, 

316,   320,   324,   325. 
death  of,  99. 

elected  President  of  the  Academy,  77. 
remarks  of  Professor  Mayer  on,  99. 
Agassiz    Fund.       (See    Alexander    Agassiz 

Fund.) 
Agassiz,  Louis,  4,   5,   9,  u,  21,  23,  27,   35, 

41,  42. 

becomes    regent    of    Smithsonian    Institu- 
tion,   5. 

expedition  of  to  South  America,  32. 
Agassiz    Medal.      (See    Alexander   Agassiz 

Medal.) 

Airy,  Sir  G.  B.,  217. 
Albert  Medal,  Society  of  Arts,  44. 
Alcoholometer,   committee  on   Saxton's,  218. 
Alexander  Agassiz  Fund,   361. 
Alexander  Agassiz  Medal,   101. 
Alexander,  J.  H.,  206,  207,  223,  225. 

biographical  sketch  of,  109. 
Alexander,   Stephen,   21,   27,   34,   62. 

biographical    sketch   of,    112. 
Allen,  A.  H.,  282. 
Allen,   Horatio,   226,  227. 
Allison,  Wm.  B.,  295,  299. 
American   Academy   of   Arts   and    Sciences, 

103. 

objects  of,   12. 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement 

of  Science,  103. 
American  coals,  resolution  on,  by  Academy, 

41,  42. 
American  Ephemeris,  committee  on  proposed 

changes  in,  267. 

American  Geological  Society,   15. 
American  Philosophical  Society,  33,  99,  102, 

103. 

Americanists,  International  Congress  of,  84. 
Ammen,  Daniel,  258. 
Ampere  and  volt,  committee  on  application 

of  definitions  of,  313. 


Annual  of  the  Academy,  17,  28,  29,  32,  35, 

44,  219,  226,  227. 
first,  publication  of,  29. 
second,  publication  of,  32. 

Appalachian  forest  reserve,  324. 

Apparatus,  philosophical  and  scientific,  com- 
mittee on,  302. 

Argelander,  F.  W.  A.,  28. 

Army  knapsacks,  committee  on   the   preser- 
vation of,  331. 

Associates,  foreign,  list  of,  337. 

Association  of  Academies,  International,  80, 
81,  84,  85,  86,  87,  88,  90,  92,  93,  94,  95, 

98,  99- 

Asteroids,  discovery  of  new,  36. 
Astronomical  day,  the,  304. 

committee  on  the,  303. 
Astronomical  physics,  Pickering's  work  on, 

67. 

Astronomical  Tables,  committee  on,  42. 
Astronomische  gesellschaft,  71. 
Auwers,     Arthur,     awarded     the     Watson 

Medal,  71. 


Bache,  Alexander   Dallas,   i,   9,   n,   12,   16, 

21,  23,  26,  30,  31,  34,  47,  62,  113,  201, 

202,  206,  207,  215,  217,  218,  227,  239, 

240. 

account  of  first  meeting  of  Academy,  by, 

22. 

address  of,  7. 
death  of,  32. 
estate  of,  33. 

first  President  of  the  Academy,  23. 
meeting  at  house  of,  to  arrange  plan  of 

incorporation,   6. 
remarks  of,  on  committees,  27. 
remarks  of,  on  need  of  national  scientific 

organization,  7. 

remarks  of,  on  objects  of  Academy,  13. 
will   of,   33. 
Bache  Fund,  34,  38,  45,  64,  76,  101,  361. 

grants  from,  33,  96. 
Bache,  Henry  Wood,  33. 
Bache,  Mrs.  A.  D.,  death  of,  33. 
Baird,  Spencer  F.,  30,  41,  302. 
Barker,  G.  F.,  293,  302,  310,  314. 
Barlow,  Joel,  7,  12. 

389 


390 


INDEX 


Barnard,  F.  A.  P.,  21,  27,  41,  71,  75,  207, 
218,   223,  226,  227,   240,  241,  257,   304. 

biographical  sketch  of,   116. 

death  of,  71. 

will  of,  71. 
Barnard,  J.  G.,  27,  62. 

biographical  sketch  of,   117. 
Barnard  Medal,  71,  72,  75,  89,  90,  98. 

awarded  to  Ernest  Rutherford,  98. 

awarded  to  Henri  Becquerel,  89. 

awarded  to  Professor  Rontgen,  82. 

committee  on,  82. 

establishment  of,  71. 

first  award  of,  72. 
Bartlett,  J.  R.,  225. 
Bartlett,  W.  H.  C.,  75. 

biographical  sketch  of,  119. 
Barus,  C.,  314. 
Batcheller,   Geo.  S.,   312. 
Baume,  hydrometer,  committee  on,   52. 
Beaumont,  J.  B.  Elie  de,  28. 
Becker,  George  F.,  92,  102,  326. 
Becquerel,  Henri,  awarded  Barnard  Medal, 

89. 

Bell,  A.  Graham,   81,  304. 
Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould  Fund,  79,  96,  367. 
Bentley,  Henry,  46. 

Bequests,   question  of  Academy  administer- 
ing, 58. 

Bequests  and  trusts,  text  of,  361. 
Billings,  J.  S.,  57,  77,  81,  282,  283. 
Biographical  Memoirs,  104. 

publication  of  first  volume  of,  28,  44. 
Bologna,  University  of,  57. 
Botanical  Congress,  International,  92. 
Botanists,  International  Association  of,  84. 
Bourgois,  M.,  223. 
Bowditch,   H.  P.,   81. 
Bradley,  James,  71. 
Brewer,   Wm.    H.,    60,    286,   296,    307,   316, 

320,  325,   326. 
Brewster,  Sir  David,  28, 
Bristow,  B.  H.,  262. 
Brogger,  W.  C.,  93. 
Brown,  S.  J.,  64. 
Brush,  Geo.  J.,  302. 
Building-stone,  committee  on,  204,  331. 
Bunsen,  Robert,  28. 

Burton,  J.  R.,  letter  of,  regarding  a  national 
Appalachian  forest  reserve,  324. 

Calf's  hair  goods,  committee  on  distinguish- 
ing from  woolen  goods,  204,  331. 
Campbell,  W.  W.,  61,  92,  330. 
Capitol,  meeting  of  Academy  held  in,  30. 
Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington,  87. 


Caroline  Island,  eclipse  expedition  to,  64. 

report  on,   64. 

Carpenter,  Captain,  63,  65. 
Carpmael,  Charles,  312. 
Caswell,  Alexis,  20,  21,  36,  45,  75,  223. 

biographical  sketch  of,  120. 
Cent  coins,  committee  on  materials  for  the 

manufacture  of,  227. 

Centennial    Exhibition,    Government   collec- 
tions at,  43. 
Central    American   Transit    Company,    249, 

250. 

Chamberlin,  T.  C.,   92,   95. 
Chandler,    Charles    F.,    262,   263,   280,   282, 
286,  291,  293,  307,  310. 

letter  regarding  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 283. 
Chandler,  Ralph,  259. 
Chandler,   Seth   C.,   75. 

awarded   Watson   Medal,  75. 
Chaplain,  M.,  59. 

Chart  of  the  Heavens,  resolutions  on,  56. 
Chase,  Salmon  P.,  27,  206,  227. 
Chasles,  Michel,  28. 
Chauvenet,  Wm.,  35,  38,  206,  218,  223. 

biographical  sketch  of,  121. 
Chemical    research,    plan    for    national    co- 
operation in,  90. 

Chemical  tables,  plan  to  publish,  99. 
Chemicals  on  revenue  stamp,  committee  on 

the  effect  of,  254. 
Chenango,  U.  S.  S.,  231,  232. 

committee  on  explosion  on  the,  230. 
Chittenden,  R.  H.,  95. 
Circassian,  U.  S.  S.,  216. 
Classes  of  Academy,  30,  68. 
Classification  of  membership,  committee  on, 

68,  69. 

Cleveland,  President,   317,   320. 
Coal  mines,  committee  on  protection  of,  253. 
Coast  and   Geodetic   Survey,   committee   on, 

295. 

Coffin,  J.   H.  C.,  37,   52,  63,  223,  233,  257, 
258,  267. 

biographical  sketch  of,  122. 

elected  Treasurer  of  Academy,  52. 
Coinage,  consideration  of  changes  in,  36. 
Coinage,  weights  and  measures,  bill  on,  210. 
Collier,  Peter,  285,  286. 
Color,     conventional     standard     of,     corre- 
spondence relating  to,  331. 
Combs,  H.  Wheeler,  307. 
Commercial    Advertiser,    the,    20. 
Commission,  Permanent,   i,  2,  4,  15. 

Select,  2. 

on  electrical  units,  resolution  on,  54. 


INDEX 


391 


Committee    on    award    of    Barnard    Medal, 
report  of,   82,   90,   98. 

Committee    on     award    of    Henry    Draper 
Medal,  report  of,   55,  67,  82,  85. 

Committee    on    award    of    Lawrence    Smith 
Medal,    report  of,   66. 

Committee  on  chemical  research,  91. 

Committee    on    experiments    on    velocity   of 
light,  49. 

Committee  on  first  Henry  Draper  Medal,  55. 

Committee  on  Gilliss'  observations  on  zones 
of  stars  around  the  South  Pole,  36. 

Committee  on  Harkness'   magnetic  observa- 
tions, 36. 

Committee  on  paleontologic  correlation,  101. 

Committee  on  revision  of  constitution  of  the 
Academy,   38. 

Committee  on  solar  eclipse  of  1883,  63. 

Committee  on  tables  of  celestial  movements, 
42. 

Committee  on  transit  of  Venus  of  1874,  38. 

Committee  on  weights,  measures  and  coin- 
age,  36,  45- 

Committee  to  cooperate  with  National  Board 
of   Health,    50. 

Committees,  appointment  of  first,  26. 
remarks  of  Bache  on,  27. 

Committees  on   behalf  of   the   Government, 

list  of,   203. 
list  of  reports  of,  348. 

"  Compass  committee,"   36,  215. 

Comstock,  Cyrus  B.,  207,  271,  276,  296. 

Comstock  Fund,  91,  363. 

Comstock   Prize,   91,    92. 

Congress  of  Electricians,  54. 

Conklin,  E.  G.,  99. 

Conness,  Senator,  235. 

Constitution,  amendment  to,  58. 
committee  on  amendment  to,  73,  74. 

Constitution    of   the    National    Academy    of 
Sciences,   352. 

Counterfeiting,    committee    on    the    preven- 
tion of,  331. 

Coville,  F.  V.,  327. 

Cox,  S.  S.,  58. 

Cox  and  Murphy,  meter  of,  244. 

Crafts,  J.  M.,  81. 

Craig,  B.  F.,  240,  241. 

Customhouse     at     Chicago,     committee     on 
building  stone  for,   331. 

Dahlgren,  John  A.  B.,  62. 

biographical  sketch  of,  123. 
Daly,  Chief  Justice,  of  N.  Y.,  312. 


Dana,  Edward  S.,  309. 

Dana,  James  D.,  23,  30,  31,  76,  85,  223,  272, 

279,  3°4- 

biographical  sketch  of,   125. 
reasons  of,  for  resignation,  30. 
Davis,  A.  McF.,   10. 

Davis,  Charles  H.,  Admiral,  i,  2,  4,  5,  6,  7, 
8,  9,  10,  n,  23,  45,  213,  215,  216,  219, 

222,    226,    250,    256,    258,    259,    306. 

appointed    chief    of    Bureau    of    Naviga- 
tion, 2. 

biographical  sketch  of,  127. 

letter  of,  to  Bache,  222. 

letter  of,  to  Gideon  Welles,  222. 

letters  of,  on  organization  of  Academy,  3. 

relation  of,  to  organization  of  Academy, 

8. 

Davis,  Charles  H.,  Captain,  2. 
Davis,  W.  M.,  95. 
Dean,  G.  W.,  217. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  committees  on 
restoration   of,   279. 

first  report  of  committee  on,  281. 
Delegates,    appointment   of,    56,    57,    81,   84, 

«S,  92,  95,  98,  99- 
practice    of    appointing,    inaugurated    by 

Academy,  56. 

Demarara  sugars,  committee  on,   264. 
Dietrich's  method  of  analysis,  311. 
Diploma  of  the  Academy,  committee  on,  23. 
Distilled  spirits,  committee  on  proving  and 

gauging,  239. 
Douglass,     J.     W.,     letter     of,     regarding 

revenue  stamps,   255. 

Draper  Fund.     (See  Henry  Draper  Fund.) 
Draper,  Henry,  55,  63,  207,  259,  260. 
Draper,      Mrs.     Henry,     establishment     of 

Draper  Medal  by,  55. 
Draper      Medal.        (See      Henry      Draper 

Medal.) 

Dublin,  University  of,  57. 
Durchmusterung,  Southern,  68. 

Eckfeldt,  J.  R.,  229. 

Eclipse  of  sun,   1869,  committee  on,  36. 

May  6,  1883,  committee  on,  62,  63. 
Edison,  Thomas  A.,  46. 

Electrical  units,  committee  on  application  of 
definitions  of,  313. 

commission  on,  54. 
Electricians,  congress  of,  54. 
Emmons,  S.  F.,  92,  99. 
Engelmann,  George,  75. 

biographical  sketch  of,  129. 
Evermann,  B.  W.,  327. 
Experiments  on  animals,  bill  relating  to,  77. 

remarks  of  Senator  Gallinger  on,  78. 


392 


INDEX 


Fairchild,  C.  S.,  308,  309. 

letter   of,    on    sugar    determinations,    308. 

Faraday,  Michael,  28. 

Farlow,    Wm.    G.,    84. 

Farnam,  Wm.  W.,  letter  of,  97. 

Ferguson,   Professor,  306. 

Ferrel,  William,  253,  290. 

Fillebrown,   Lieut.,  231. 

First  organization  of  Academy,  25. 

Fizeau,  M.,  49. 

Folsom,  C.  W.,  238. 

Foreign  associates  of  Academy,  first  list  of, 
28. 

Forest   policy,   committee   on   the   inaugura- 
tion of  a,  314. 
recommendations  of  committee  on,  319. 

Forest    reserve,     report    of     committee     on 
National  Appalachian,  324. 

Forests   of   White    Mts.   and   Appalachians, 
resolutions  on,   93. 

Foster,  Sir  Michael,  86. 

Foucault,  J.  B.  L.,  49. 

Fractional    currency,    committee    on    water- 
proofing, 261. 

Francis,  D.  R.,  317. 

Franklin,   Benjamin,  7,   12. 

Franklin  Institute,  226. 

Franklin,  Sir  John,  311. 

Frazer,  J.  F.,  21,  36,  42,  218,  223,  231. 
biographical  sketch  of,  132. 

Freer,  P.   C.,  329. 

French,  H.  F.,  302. 

Frye,  A.  D.,  217. 

Fua,   Mr.,   253,   254. 


Gallinger,   Jacob  H.,   77,   78. 

Garfield,  President,  61. 

Gay  Lussac,  J.  L.,  219. 

Geikie,   Sir  Archibald,   92. 

Genth,  F.  A.,  265. 

Geological   Congress,   International,   92,   99. 

Geological  Society  of  London,  93. 

Geological  Survey,  committee  on,  295. 

Geological  Survey  of  Pennsylvania,  reports 

of,  resolution  relating  to,  77. 

Gibbs  Fund.      (See   Wolcott  Gibbs   Fund.) 

Gibbs,  Wolcott,  21,  23,  38,  48,  49,  72,   73, 

76,   77,   78,   84,   93,  206,  207,  213,  215, 

227,  255,  280,  290,  302,   316,   317,   320. 

biographical  sketch  of,  133. 

death  of,  93. 

elected  President  of  the  Academy,  48,  77. 

elected  Vice-President  of  Academy,  38. 

resignation     of      as     President     of     the 
Academy,    84. 


Gilbert,  Grove  K.,  92. 

Gilder,  W.  H.,  311,  312. 

Gill,   Sir   David,    awarded   Watson   Medal, 

82. 

Gill,  Theodore  N.,  79,  84. 
Gilliss,  James  M.,  30,  34,  36,  221,  260. 

biographical  sketch  of,   135. 
Glucose,  committee  on,  293. 
Goessman,  C.  A.,  286. 
Goodale,  George  L.,  81. 
Goode,   G.  Brown,   7. 
Gould,  A.  A.,  31,  34,  51,  52. 
biographical  sketch  of,  137. 
Gould,   Alice  Bache,   letter  of,   establishing 

Gould  Fund,  79. 
Gould,  Benjamin  Apthorp,  4,  9,  10,  23,  27, 

28,  38,  53,  73,  76,  79,  85,  207,  253. 
astronomical  works  of,  53. 
biographical  sketch  of,  138. 
first  Watson  Medal  awarded  to,  53. 
Gould  Fund  (see  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould 

Fund),  79,  96. 
Government    collections    at    the    Centennial 

Exhibition,  resolution  on,  43. 
Government,  scientific  work  under  the,  com- 
mittee on,   330. 
list  of  reports  of  committees  on  behalf  of, 

348. 
Gray,  Asa,  76. 

biographical  sketch  of,   140. 
Greeley,  A.  W.,  312. 
Green,  F.  M.,  52. 
Grey,  Wilbur  M.,  282. 
Greytown    Harbor,     Nicaragua,    committee 

on  the  improvement  of,  31,  247. 
Guyot,  Arnold,  ir,  30,  206,  223. 

biographical   sketch   of,    142. 

Hague,  Arnold,  10,  92,  93,  99,  102,  316,  320. 

Hale,   Eugene,   295,   299. 

Hale,  George  E.,  85,  88,  92,  93,  95,  98. 

awarded  Henry  Draper  Medal,  85. 
Hall,  Asaph,  63,  267,  306,  325. 
Hall,  Chas.  F.,  39,  40,  41. 
Hall,  James,  76,  85. 

biographical  sketch  of,  145. 
Hall's  Third  Arctic  Expedition,  instructions 
for,  40. 

remarks  on,  by  Henry,  41. 
Hamilton,  Sir  Wm.  Rowan,  28. 
Harkness,   William,   36,   37,   258,   260. 
Hartford,  U.  S.  S.,  63,  64,  65. 
Hastings,  Chas.  S.,  64,  309,  314. 
Hay,  John,  letters  from,  regarding  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  281,  283. 
Hayden,  F.  V.,  269,  273. 


INDEX 


393 


Hazelton,  J.   H.,  280. 
Hazen,  Wm.  B.,  290. 

Headstones,    committee   on    galvanic    action 
in   iron,   232. 

discussion  on,  in  Senate,  235. 

report  of  committee  on,  233. 
Hecate,    asteriod,    36. 
Helena,  asteroid,  36. 
Henry  Draper  Fund,  76,  365. 
Henry   Draper   Medal,    55,    67,   70,    74,   81, 
82,  85,  98. 

awarded  to  C.  G.  Abbot,  98. 

awarded  to  E.  C.  Pickering,  67. 

awarded  to  George  E.  Hale,  85. 

awarded  to  H.  A.  Rowland,  70. 

awarded  to  H.  K.  Vogel,  74. 

awarded  to  J.  E.  Keeler,  81. 

awarded  to  Sir  Wm.  Huggins,  82. 

awarded  to  S.  P.  Langley,  55. 

report  of  committee  on  award  of,  67,  82. 

restrictions  on  award  of,  67. 
Henry   Fund.      (See   Joseph   Henry  Fund.) 
Henry,  Joseph,   i,  4,   9,   n,   14,   15,  20,   21, 
27,   3°,   32,   37,   39,   4i,  42,  4-8,   65,   66, 
206,  207,   215,  227,  228,  229,  233,  240, 
242,  243,  244,  245,  249,  255,  262,   263, 
265,  3i3- 

biographical  sketch  of,  147. 

death  of,  47. 

elected  President  of  Academy,  31,  35. 

farewell  address  of,  46. 

letter  of,  regarding  Nicaragua,  250. 

letter  of,  to  Hugh  McCulloch,  208. 

letter  of,  to  the  President,  212. 

letter  to,  from  E.  M.  Stanton,  237. 

recommended  to  receive  Albert  Medal,  44. 

remarks  of,  on  incorporation  of  Academy, 
6. 

remarks  of,  on  objects  of  Academy,  13. 

remarks     of     Professor     Marsh     on     the 
services  of,  47. 

resolution  on  the  services  of,  46. 
Herald,  the  New  York,  21. 
Herbert,   Hilary  A.,   295,   299,   301. 
Hibben,   President,   102. 
Hilgard,  J.  E.,  33,  41,  52,  63,  76,  207,  223, 
240,  242,  243,  244,  245,  249,  250,  251, 
262,  263,  267,  280. 

biographical  sketch  of,  150. 
Hill,  George  W.,   10,  258. 

letter  of,  regarding  origin  of  Academy,  n. 
Hitchcock,  Edward,  29,  34. 

biographical  sketch  of,  151. 
Hjort,   Johan,   221. 
Hodgkins  Fund,  61. 
Holden,  E.  S.,  64,  305,  306. 


Holmes,  W.  H.,  327. 

Honorary  members  of  Academy,  36. 

Hubbard,  J.  S.,  22,  28,  29,  34. 

biographical  sketch  of,  153. 

death  of,  28. 
Huggins,  Sir  Wm.,  awarded  Henry  Draper 

Medal,  82. 
Humphreys,  A.  A.,  250,  272,  275,  276. 

biographical  sketch  of,   154. 
Hungarian  Academy  of  Sciences,  88. 
Hunt,  T.  Sterry,   56. 

Hydrographic  office,  committee  on  the,  295. 
Hydrometer,   Baume,   52. 

Gay  Lussac's,  219. 

Tralles',  219,  240. 

Hygiene     and     demography,     International 
Congress  of,  57. 


Incorporation,  Act  of,  351. 

bill  of,  in  House,  6. 

in  Senate,  5. 
Incorporators,   death  of,  28,  29,   30,  31,   32, 

34,  36,  38,  42,  45,  47,  75,  »5,  93- 
list  of,  104. 

International  Association  of  Academies,  80, 
81,  84,  85,  86,  87,  88,  90,  92,  93,  94,  95, 

98,  99- 
delegates  to,  81,  84,  85,  92,  93,  95,  98,  99. 

International  Association  of  Botanists,  84. 

International  Botanical  Congress,  92. 

International  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Meas- 
ures, 42,  45,  212. 

International    conference    on    metric    stand- 
ards, 42. 

International   Congress  of  Americanists,  84. 

International  Congress  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
88. 

International     Congress     of     Hygiene     and 
Demography,  57. 

International   Congress  on  Electrical  Units, 

54,   55- 

American   delegates  to,   54. 
International  cooperation  in  research,  Com- 
mittee on,  94,  98. 
International    Geological    Congress,    92,    99. 

resolution  of  Academy  relative  to,  54. 
International  Meteorological  Committee,  88, 

89. 
International      paleontological      correlation, 

95- 
International   Seismological  Association,   87, 

90. 

International  Statistical  Congress,  206. 
International     Union    for     Cooperation     in 

Solar  Research,  88,  90,  94,  100. 


394 


INDEX 


International    Zoological    Congress,    78,    93, 

99- 
Inventions,    exhibition   of   before   Academy, 

45-_ 
Iron  ships,  committee  on  magnetic  deviation 

in,  215. 
Iron    vessels,    committee    on    protecting    the 

bottoms  of,  213. 
Isherwood,  B.  F.,  226. 

J.  C.  Watson  Fund,  64,  75,  76,  97,  372. 

J.  Lawrence  Smith  Fund,  58,  76,  271. 

Jablokoff  electric  candle,  45. 

James,  Edmund  J.,  84. 

Jeannette,  S.  S.,  311. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  7. 

John  L.  LeConte  Fund,  370. 

John  Murray  Fund,  371. 

Johnson,  Samuel  W.,  255,  286. 

Johnson,  W.  R.,  41. 

Jones,   Captain,   249. 

Joseph  Henry  Fund,  48,  370. 

Kastle,  I.  H.,  310. 

Keeler,     J.     E.,     awarded     Henry     Draper 

Medal,  81. 
King,  Clarence,  278. 

Langley,  S.  P.,  56,  59,  60,  61,  63,  290,  296, 
304,  3*2. 

awarded  Henry  Draper  Medal,  55. 
Lankester,  Sir  E.  Ray,  92. 
Lartigue,  M.,  223. 
Lawrence   Smith  Fund.      (See  J.  Lawrence 

Smith  Fund.) 
Lawrence  Smith  Medal,  59. 

awarded  to  H.  A.  Newton,  66. 

restrictions  on   award   of,   67. 
Le   Conte   Fund.      (See   John   L.   Le    Conte 

Fund.) 
Le  Conte,  John  L.,  62,  225. 

biographical  sketch  of,   156. 
Leidy,  Joseph,  21,  76. 

biographical  sketch  of,  158. 
Lesley,  [J]*  Peter,  9,  10,  17,  21,  22,  23,  30, 
_76,  77,  223. 

biographical  sketch  of,   160. 

early  promoter  of  Academy  movement,  9. 

remarks  of,  on  oath  of  allegiance,  17. 
Lesley,  Mrs.,  10. 
Lewis,  G.  N.,  91. 


Lincoln,  President,   5,   16. 

Lincoln,  Robert  T.,  letter  of  regarding  Mt. 
Whitney,   60. 

Linnasus,   Carolus,  93. 

List  of  members  at  first  meeting,  20. 

Lister,   Lord,    letter  of,   relating  to   associa- 
tion of  academies,  80. 

Lodge,  Senator  Henry  C.,  329. 

Loeb  bequest.      (See  Morris  Loeb  bequest.) 

Loeb,   Morris,   102. 

Longitude,  determination  of  telegraphically, 
resolution  relating  to,  52. 

Longstreth,  M.  F.,  76,  162. 
biographical  sketch  of,   162. 

Loomis,  Elias,  290. 

Loring,  G.  B.,  286,  287. 

Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  88. 

Lovering,  Joseph,  207. 

Lowry,  Robert,  295,  299. 

Lull,  E.  P.,  252. 

Lyman,  Benjamin  S.,  9,  10. 

Lyman,  Theodore,  295,  296,  304. 

McCrary,  G.  W.,  275. 
McCulloch,   Hugh,   208,   240. 
McKinley,  President,  320. 
Magnetic  north  pole,  committee  on  a  system- 
atic search  for,  311. 
Mahan,  D.  H.,  163. 

biographical  sketch  of,  163. 
Mall,  F.  P.,  95. 
Manning,  Daniel,  307. 
Marcou,  Jules,  9. 

Marsh  Fund.    (See  O.  C.  Marsh  Fund.) 
Marsh,  O.  C.,  47,  48,  49,  53,  57,  66,  77,  97, 
291,  296,  302,  303,  310,  312. 

acting  President  of  the  Academy,  48. 

death  of,  82. 

elected  President  of  the  Academy,  49. 
Maury,  M.  F.,  219,  220,  221,  223,  224. 
Maximilian,   Emperor,   221. 
Mayer,  A.  M.,  99,  312. 

remarks  of,  on  Alexander  Agassiz,  99. 
Medalists,  list  of,  346. 
Meek,  F.  B.,  41. 
Meetings,  list  of,  385. 
Meigs,   M.   C.,   41,  42,   207,   232,   237,   238, 

240,  242,  245,  296. 
Members  of  the  Academy,  honorary,  36. 

list  of,  337. 

original,  death  of,  28,  29,  30,  31,  32,  34, 
36,  38,  42,  45,  47. 


•The  letter  J  was  added  by  Lesley  to  his  name  when  he  came  of  age,  to  distinguish  his 
signature  from  that  of  his  father. 


INDEX 


395 


Membership  of  the  Academy,   classification 
of,  in   1864,   68. 

in  1892,  69. 

in  1894,  70. 

in  1911,  70. 

question  of  increase  of,  34,  37,  39. 

restriction  on  increase  of  removed,  73. 
Memoirs  of   the   Academy,   27,    32,    62,   65, 
74,  85,  89,   101. 

publication  of  first  volume  of,  32. 

publication  of  second   and  third   volumes 
of,   62. 

publication  of  fourth  volume  of,  74. 

publication  of  fifth  volume  of,  74. 

publication  of  sixth  volume  of,  74. 

publication  of  seventh  volume  of,  381. 

publication  of  eighth  volume  of,  85. 

publication  of  ninth  volume  of,  89. 

publication  of  tenth  volume  of,  101. 
Mendenhall,  T.  C.,  207,  311,  312,  314. 
Merriam,  C.  Hart,  326,  327. 
Merrick,  J.  V.,  226. 
Meteorological  Committee,  International,  88, 

89. 
Meteorological   science  and  its  applications, 

committee   on,   290. 
Meteors,  Newton's  study  of,  66. 
Methyl,     or     wood     spirits,     committee     on 
separation  of,   from  ethyl   alcohol,   291, 
292. 
Metric  standards,  for  the  States,  211. 

international  conference  on,  42. 
Metric  system,  resolutions  relating  to,  34,  35. 

endorsed  by  Academy,  32. 
Metric  weights  and  measures,  bills  relating 
to,   210. 

committee  on,  206. 

letter  of  Henry  on,  209. 

remarks  of  Bache  on,  207. 

report  of  committee  on,  208,  209. 

use  of  in  post-offices,  211. 
Miantonomah,  U.  S.   S.,   37. 
Michelson,  Albert  A.,  49,   50,  207,  314. 
Michigan   Agricultural   College,    soth   anni- 
versary of,  93. 
Milne-Edwards,  Henri,  28. 
Mitchell,  H.  M.,  251. 
Mitchell,  S.  Weir,   57. 
Molina,  Don  Luis,  249,  251. 
Monadnock,  U.  S.  S.,  217. 

magnetic  observations  on,  36. 
Moore,  E.  H.,   85,   95. 
Moore,  Gideon  E.,  286. 
Moreau,    G.,    228. 
Morgan,  John  T.,  296,  299,  301. 
Morley,  E.  W.,  207. 


Morris,  Francis,   249. 
Morris  Loeb  bequest,  370. 
Morse,  Edward  S.,  n,  84. 

remarks  of,  on  founders  of  Academy,  n. 
Morton,   Henry,   262,  263,   307. 
Mt.  Whitney,  committee  on,  60. 

description  of,    59. 

Langley's  observations  on,  59. 

reservation  on,   60. 

shelter  for  observers  on,  61. 
Murray  Fund.      (See  John  Murray  Fund.) 
Murray,   Sir   John,   101,  221. 

National  Academy  of  Sciences,  act  of  in- 
corporation of,  6,  351. 

annals  of,   25. 

Annual  of,  17,  28,  29,  32,  35,  44. 

bill  of  incorporation  of,  5,  6. 

biographical  memoir,  first,  28,  44. 

Biographical  Memoirs  of,  375. 

classification  of  members  of,  25,  30. 

classes  of,  39. 

committee  on  diploma  of,  23. 

committee  on  experiments  on  velocity  of 
light,  49. 

committee  on  organization  of,  21. 

committee  on  seal,  23. 

constitution   of,   352. 

constitution  of,  amendment  to,  58. 

constitution  and  by-laws,  adoption  of,  28. 

constitution  of,  committee  on  revision  of, 
St. 

Davis'  letters  relating  to,  3,  4. 

discussion  regarding  in   1862,   10. 

first  meeting  of,  20,  22,  25. 

first  scientific  session  of,  26,  27. 

foreign  associates,  first  list  of,  28. 

foreign  associates  of,  list  of,  337. 

founding  of  the,   i. 

governmental  relations  of,  17. 

honorary  members  of,   36. 

incorporators  of,  list  of,  104. 

medalists  of,  list  of,   346. 

meetings  of,  date  of  changed,  39. 

membership    of,    question   of   increase    in, 

34,  37,  39- 

members  of,  list  of,  337. 
Memoirs  of,  27,   32,  62,   65,   85,   89,    101. 
metric  system  endorsed   by,   32. 
oath  administered  to  members  of,  16,  22. 
objects  of,  13,  15. 
officers  of,  list  of,  335. 
organization  of,   for   1863,   23 
original  members  of,  death  of,  28,  29,  30, 

31,   32,   34,   36,   38,  42,   45,  47,   61,  75, 

78,  93- 


396 


INDEX 


National   Academy  of   Sciences — Continued. 
plan  of  incorporating,  4. 
principal  promoters  of,  9. 
Proceedings  of,  28,  37,  44,  51,  66,  67. 
Proceedings  of,  publication  of  first  volume 

of,  44. 

second  session  of  in  1864,  28. 
sections  of,   39. 
National    Board    of    Health,    committee    to 

cooperate  with,  50. 

National  cemeteries,  iron  headstones  in,  232. 
National   cooperation  in   chemical   research, 

plan  for,  90. 

National  currency,   committee  on,  204,   331. 
National  forest  reserve  in   Southern  Appa- 
lachians, committee  on  establishment  of 

a,  323- 

National  Institute,  annual  scientific  conven- 
tion of,  12. 
Naval   Observatory,   305. 

committee  on  the  erection  of  a,  303. 
Newberry,  J.  S.,  23,  76,  272. 
biographical  sketch  of,  164. 
Newcomb,  Simon,  41,  49,  50,  63,  81,  85,  92, 
207,  256,  257,  258,  260,  261,  267,  268, 
272,  290,  296,  302,  305,  306. 
Newton,  H.  A.,  59,  63,  76,  85,  166,  207,  290. 
awarded  Lawrence  Smith  Medal,  66. 
biographical  sketch  of,   166. 
Nicaragua,  251. 

Nicaragua,  Compania  de  Transito  de,  248. 
Nicaraguan  Transit  Company,  249. 
Nichols,  E.  L.,  330. 
Northampton,    Mass.,   meeting   of   Academy 

in,  30,  32. 

Northwestern  University,  84. 
Noyes,  A.  A.,  95,  330. 

O.  C.  Marsh  Fund,  97,  371. 
Officers,  list  of,  335. 
Onondaga,  U.  S.  S.,  231. 
Opium,    committees   on    the    morphine    con- 
tent of,  309. 

Ordway,  John  M.,  263. 
Organization  of  the  Academy  for  1863,  23. 
Osborn,  Henry  F.,  93,  95,  102. 

Paleontological  correlation,  international,  95. 

Passaic,  the  monitor,  217. 

Patterson,   C.  P.,  276. 

Peirce,  Benjamin,  4,  9,   10,  21,  23,  27,   168, 

215,  223,  256. 
biographical  sketch  of,  168. 

Peirce,  C.  S.,  63,  207. 

Pendleton,  Geo.  H.,  295,  296. 

Permanent    Commission,    letter    of    appoint- 
ment, i. 


Peters,  C.  H.  F.,  56,  267. 

Philippine   Islands,    committee   on    scientific 

explorations  of  the,  325. 
Phonograph,  exhibition  of,  46. 
Physical  tables,  plan  to  publish  annually,  99. 
Pickering,  Edward  C.,  67,  296,  304. 

Henry  Draper  Medal  awarded  to,  67. 
Pinchot,  Gifford,  316,  320,  323,  327. 
Plana,  G.  A.  A.,  28. 
Poinsett,  J.  R.,  7. 
Polaris,  voyage  of  the,  40. 

scientific    instructions    for    expedition    of, 

40. 
Polariscope  to  determine  the  value  of  sugars, 

committee  on,  264. 
Pollock,  James,  229,  230. 
Powell,  J.  W.,  60,  269,  273,  277. 
Preston,   E.  D.,  64. 
Princeton   University,   102. 
Proceedings  of  the  Academy,  28,  37,  44,  51, 

66,  67. 

publication  of  first  volume  of,  44. 
Procyon,  proper  motion  of,  71. 
Prussian  Academy  of  Sciences,  80,  81. 
Publication,  committee  on,  27. 
Publications  of  the  Academy,  list  of,  374. 
Putnam,  F.  W.,  326. 

Ramsay,   Senator  Alexander,  235. 
Raum,  Green  B.,  291. 

letter  of,  concerning  methyl  alcohol,  291. 
Rayleigh,  Lord,  72,  75. 

awarded  Barnard  Medal,  72,  75. 
Remsen,  Ira,  81,  84,  282,  283,  291,  293,  310, 
33°. 

elected  President  of  the  Academy,  84. 
Reports    of    committees    on    behalf    of    the 

Government,  list  of,  348. 
Road,  O.  N.,  290. 
Roanoke,  the  iron-clad,  217. 
Robeson,  George  M.,  40,  256,  259. 
Rockwell,  C.  H.,  63,  64. 
Rodgers,  John,  21,  36,  62,  171,  206. 

biographical  sketch  of,  171. 
Rodgers,   U.   S.   S.,   311. 
Rogers,  Fairman,  23,  33,  37,  52,  76,  85,  173, 
206,  215,  217,  226,  231. 

biographical   sketch  of,   173. 

resigns  as  treasurer  of  Academy,  52. 
Rogers,  Joseph  A.,  260. 
Rogers,  Robert  E.,  21,  76,  174,  225,  280. 

biographical  sketch  of,   174. 
Rogers,  William  B.,  21,   61,   176,   272,   280, 
286,  293. 

biographical  sketch  of,  176. 

elected  President  of  the  Academy,  48. 

letter  of,  on  meeting  for  organization,  21. 


INDEX 


397 


Rollins,   E.   A.,   243. 

Rontgen,  W.  C.,   awarded  Barnard  Medal, 

82. 
Roosevelt,  President,  326,  327,  329. 

letter    of,    regarding    Philippine    Islands, 

325,  326,   327. 
Rowland,  H.  A.,  54,  314. 

awarded  Henry  Draper  Medal,  70. 
Royal  Prussian  Academy  of  Sciences,  80,  81. 
Royal  Society  of  Canada,  56,  57. 
Royal  Society,   15,  64,  87,  102. 

letter  from,  80,  81. 
Rucker,  D.  H.,  237. 

letter  of,  regarding  headstones,  233. 
Ruggles,  Samuel  B.,  206,  209. 
Rules  of  the  National  Academy,  357. 
Rutherford,      Ernest,       awarded      Barnard 

Medal,   98. 

Rutherfurd,  L.  M.,  23,  27,  76,  178,  206,  232, 
245,  257. 

biographical  sketch  of,   178. 

Saccharimeters    for     sugar     determinations, 

committee    on    quartz    plates    used    in, 

308. 

Sands,  B.  F.,  256,  257,  258. 
San     Juan,     Nicaragua,     improvement     of 

harbor  of,  31. 

Sargent,  Chas.  S.,  316,  320,  325. 
Saxton,  Joseph,  42,  180,  207,  218,  219,  226, 

228,  233. 

biographical  sketch  of,  180. 
Saxton's   alcoholometer,    committee   on,    218. 
Schonfeld,     Edward,     award     of     Watson 

Medal  to,  68. 

Schott,  Charles  A.,  217,  267,  290,  311,  312. 
Schriver,  Ed.,  238. 
Schurz,   Carl,  280. 
Schwatka,  Lieut.,  312. 
Scientific  papers,  publication  of  by  Academy, 

5i- 

Scientific  work  under  the  government,  com- 
mittee on  methods  and  expenses  of,  330. 

Scudder,  S.  H.,   302. 

Seismological  Association,  International,  90. 

Seismological   laboratory,    plan    to   establish 

a,  99- 

Seismometry,  committee  on,  87. 
Sellers,   Wm.,   207,   262,  263. 
Seward,    William    H.,    letter   of,    regarding 

Nicaragua,   250. 
letter  from,  to  Bache,  16. 
Shannon,  H.  M.  S.,  249. 
Sherman,  Senator  John,  58. 
Ship-canal   company,   Atlantic    and   Pacific, 

248. 


Signal   Service  of  the   army,  committee  on, 

295. 
Silk  culture  in  the  United  States,  committee 

on,   331. 
Silliman,    Benjamin,    Jr.,    21,   76,    185,    206, 

213,  225,  285,  286. 
biographical  sketch  of,  185. 
Silliman,    Benjamin,    Sr.,    23,    29,    34,    183, 

213. 

biographical  sketch  of,  183. 
Singleton,  Representative,   58. 
Sirius,  proper  motion  of,  71. 
Smith,  Edgar  F.,  85. 
Smith    Fund.       (See    J.    Lawrence     Smith 

Fund.) 
Smith,   Hoke,   315. 

letter    of    regarding      a    rational    forest 

policy,  315. 
Smith,  J.  Lawrence,  57,  59,  280,  286. 

death  of,   57. 
Smith,  Mrs.  J.  Lawrence,  58,  59. 

fund   established  by,   58. 
Smithsonian     Contributions    to    Knowledge, 

37- 

Smithsonian  Institution,  i,  4,   5,  32,  43,  99. 
Solar  eclipse  of  August,  1886,  committee  on, 

3°3.  304- 
Solar    research,     International     Union    for, 

88,  90,  93»  94)  ioo. 

Solar  Union,  report  on  the  work  of  the,  89. 
Sorghum  sugar,   committee  on,   284. 
Spicer-Simpson,  Theodore,  101. 
Stanton,   E.   M.,    letter   of,   regarding  head- 
stones, 237. 

Statistical   Congress,   International,  206. 
Steam,   expansion  of,   committee  on   experi- 
ments on  the,   226. 
Stewart,  Wm.  M.,  41. 
Stiles,   C.   W.,   79. 
StillwelPs  method  of  analysis,  311. 
Strong,  Theodore,  27,  36. 

biographical  sketch  of,  t86. 
Sugars,   committee  on  artificial  coloring  of, 

204,  264. 
Sugar     determinations,     saccharimeters     for 

use  in,  308. 

Sumner,   Senator  Charles,  211. 
Sun,  total  eclipse  of,  committee  on,  in  1868, 

36. 

committee  on,   in  1883,   62. 
act  of  Congress  relating  to,  64. 
committee  on,  63. 
resolution  relating  to,  63. 
Surgeon-General's  Office,  library  of,  resolu- 
tions on  catalogue  of,  77. 


398 


INDEX 


Surveying  the   Territories,   committee   on   a 

plan  for,  268. 
Surveys   under    the    Government,    views    of 

the  Academy  regarding,  48. 
Swain,  Joseph,   85. 
Swarthmore  College,  85. 
Swiss  Society  of  Natural  Sciences,  98. 

Tagliabue,  Wm.  G.,  241,  242. 

Tariff  classification  of  wools,  committee  on, 

306. 

Telephone,  carbon,  exhibition  of,  46. 
Territories   of   United   States,   committee  on 

a  plan  for  surveying  the,  268. 
Thayer,  Nathaniel,  32. 
Thompson,  R.  W.,  49. 
Tice,  I.  P.,  244,  245,  246. 
Ticonderoga,  U.  S.  S.,  217. 
Tilghman,   R.  A.,  226. 
Tittmann,  O.  H.,  327. 
Torrey,    John,   23,   42,    188,   206,    225,    227, 

240,  255. 

biographical  sketch  of,  188. 
Totten,  J.  G.,  29,  190,  218. 

biographical  sketch  of,  190. 
Totten,  John,  34. 
Towne,  J.  H.,  226. 

Transit  of   Venus,   committee   on,   256. 
Trelease,  William,  92. 
Triangulation  connecting  the  Atlantic   and 

Pacific  coasts,  committee  on,  331. 
Tribune,  the  New  York,  21. 
Trowbridge,  John,   54,  314. 
Trowbridge,  W.  P.,  207,  215,  272,  296,  312. 
Trust   funds,    act    authorizing   Academy   to 

receive  and  hold,  58. 
amounts  of,  76. 
Trusts,  question  of  Academy  administering, 

58. 

text  of  bequests  and,  361. 
Tyndale,   Hector,   65. 
Tyndall,  John,   65,   66. 
Tyndall   trust   fund,    65. 


Union   for    Cooperation   in    Solar   Research, 

93- 

University  of  Aberdeen,  quaternary  cele- 
bration of,  92. 

University  of  Berlin,  looth  anniversary  of, 
99. 

University  of  Bologna,  8ooth  anniversary 
of,  57. 

University  of  City  of  New  York,  18. 

University  of  Dublin,  57. 

University  of   Glasgow,   84. 

Upton,   Winslow,   64. 


"  Uranometria  Argentina  "  of  B.  A.  Gould, 

resolution  relating  to,  51. 
Vanderbilt,   Cornelius,  248. 
Van  Hise,  C.  R.,  85,  92,  330. 
Velocity  of  light,  committee  on  experiments 

on,  49. 

Vignaud,  Henry,  55. 
Vincennes,  U.  S.  S.,  219,  220. 
Vivisection  bill,  78. 
Vogel,     H.     K.,     awarded     Henry     Draper 

Medal,  74. 
Von  Baer,  Karl  Ernst,  28. 

Wade,  Senator  B.  F.,  235. 

Walcott,  Charles  D.,  327. 

Walker,  episode  in  Nicaragua,  248. 

Walker,   Francis   A.,   57,   296. 

Walker,  Professor,  306. 

Washington,  George,  7. 

Water-meter,   Worthington's,   244. 

Watson  Fund.      (See  J.  C.  Watson  Fund.) 

Watson,  James  C.,  257,  267. 

bequest  of,   52. 
Watson  Medal,  53,  68,  71,  74,  75,  82. 

awarded   to  Arthur  Auwers,   71. 

awarded  to  Edward  Schonfeld,  68. 

awarded  to  Seth  C.  Chandler,  75. 

awarded  to  Sir  David  Gill,  82. 

first  award  of,  to  B.  A.  Gould,  53. 

recommendations  of  board  of  trustees  on 

award  of,  75. 
Webb,  W.  H.,  249. 
Webster,    Arthur    G.,    207. 
Weights,     Measures,     and     Coinage,     com- 
mittee on,  27,  35,  36,  45,  206. 
Weights    and    Measures,    International   Bu- 
reau  of,   42,    212. 
Welles,   Gideon,  i,  226. 

letter  of,  2. 

West,  Preston  C.  F.,  249,  250. 
Wex,   Gustav,   318. 
Whiskey,  committee  on  the  question  of  tests 

for  the  purity  of,  225. 
White  Mountains,  forests  of,  resolutions  on, 

93- 
Whitney,  J.  D.,  76,  85,  271,  276. 

biographical   sketch  of,   193. 
Whitney,  W.  C.,  letter  from,  regarding  the 

astronomical  day,  303. 
Wiesbaden,  conference  at,  81. 

delegates  to,  81. 
Williams,   Henry,   213,   214. 
Wilson,  E.  B.,  95. 
Wilson,  Senator  Henry,  4,  5,  10,  n,  17,  20, 

26,  37,   38,  62,  235. 

address  of,  at  first  meeting  of  Academy, 
18. 


INDEX 


399 


Wilson,  James,  323. 

Wind    and    Current     Charts    and    Sailing 

Directions,  committee  on,  219. 
Winlock,  Joseph,  21,  45,  195,  223. 

biographical   sketch   of,    197. 
Wolcott  Gibbs  Fund,  72,  76,  96,  102,  366. 

establishment  of,  72. 
Woodward,  A.  S.,  207,  326,  330. 
Wools,  committee  on  tariff  classification  of, 

306. 

World,  the  New  York,  21. 
Worthington's  water-meter,   244. 
Wright,  Arthur  W.,  309. 


Wright,  H.  G.,  275. 
Wyman,  Jeffries,  45,  197. 
biographical  sketch  of,    195. 

Yale  University,  84. 

Yellowstone    region,    committee   on    the    ex- 
ploration of,   by   General   Stanley,   205, 

33i- 

Youmans,  E.  L.,  65. 
Young,   C.  A.,   63,  207,   267,  290,  296,   304. 

Zoological    Congress,    International,    78,    93, 
99- 


RETURN     CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 
TO—**      202  Main  Library 

LOAN  PERIOD  1 
HOME  USE 

3 

4 

5 

6 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

Renewals  and  Recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  the  due  date. 

Books  may  be  Renewed  by  calling     642-3405. 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


AUTO  DISC   MAR  1  6 


"JUN-1G  1003 


n 


-7      /, 


^•S3   /£/tC 
T    I  ft  T 


-M^ 


SEP  1 1  2005 


FORM  NO.  DD6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


. 
Berkeley 


GENEBALL'8M»r-u.c.  BERKELEY 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 


CALIFORNIA.  UBRARY 


m\\ 


HHifHiHii 


His  ii 


s    '; 


!:    I 


if-!!: 


iii 


\ 


i  ii 


JU»' •       ' 

Hi  i    I 


I 


Hi! 


I!" 


tni 


! 


:';- 

,-    .  , 


fla  i 


Ml! 


11! 


I 


iijj 

im  '• 

\ 


\\ 
I 


i 

ill 


! 


ii 


i 


! 


I 


i  ;    i-i    i 

iiililil!  i! 


ill 


i  i 


slilM 


M  J' 


IH! 


H  ; 

:;  i 


!: 

M     ! 


•I 


i.  ;  !<i-  ;i'f; 

lift 


I 


II! 


ii   Hi 


! 


i 


«f 


ii  p  lij 
1       i! 


[Hi! 


(i 


iii:: 

i 

IHjUjjii 

ill 


ii 


II 


ilSisiili 


i 


11  i 


iliiii 
i;  ii 


i! 


i   Hi  ft 


if  11 


ill 


